Part of the great problem faced by children and young teens who are part of the LGBTIQ+ community is that they don’t find a support system within their families. Aslo, they do not know how to address many issues they want to discuss mainly with their parents because they don’t know if they will be open to it.  

That is why the Association of Families against Gender Intolerance -AMPGYL in Spanish- developed a Care and Accompaniment Guide for fathers and mothers with "diverse childhoods and young teens".

The main goal of this guide, which is also completely free, is to improve the talks that occurs in homes regarding issues such as orientation and  identity and to help resolve some doubts that parents may have about this subject. 

The idea is that families with children who have "behaviours, interests or bodies that do not adapt to the idealized model of a girl or a boy" can have a guide that allows them to be more comprehensive, tolerant and loving in order to become a support base for their children.

In addition, according to what the guide indicates, another important reason for creating it is that "gender intolerance is the main cause of bullying" against those children who do not express themselves in the same way as others or in the ways in which society is used to it, so this may be a way to find out and fight against this misinformation and violent attitudes against these children.

A guide to be better and more inclusive

AMPGYL is a Spanish initiative made up of parents who wanted to be better for their children, to support them in the various paths that adolescence reveals and in the difficulties that growing up "different" can lead to in a society completely marked by binary standards. 

That is why since 2002 they have been working together to create a more inclusive world, starting within homes. Now, and because the world was just celebrating Pride Month, they are releasing this perfect guide for those parents who, although they want to support their children who have shown that they do not fit in with certain aspects that society has considered correct, don't know how to do it.

What can you find in the guide?

Mainly, the guide focuses on educating with love and precision on various topics, beginning with what diverse childhoods are and how families can help those children who are discovering who they are in the world, especially if they do not feel identified with what is defined as a boy or a girl.

Secondly, it also explains how parents or family members can help build a safe environment for children that doesn’t affect their self-esteem or confidence, even though things may not be the same outside their home. "The more sure they are of themselves, the better they will be able to face conflict situations," is something you can read in the guide.

The guide also talks about the importance of representation. These diverse children must have references in their childhood that let them know that they’re not the only ones in the world who feel this way, and it is important to introduce books, movies, shows and more that have characters that might be going through the same thing as them. Other topics in the guide include what to do and how to talk to a child who identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender.

However, one of the topics that can help parents the most in this guide is to know that they can also seek help to learn to manage their feelings, in order to allow their children to be, “without our fear becoming a new obstacle that prevents them from growing and developing," as the guide says. 

Finally, if you are interested in reading the complete guide, which is currently in Spanish, you can find it on the official AMPGYL website.