Helping a Child Come Out

Can you imagine an article like this being published ten years ago, or even five?

The most important thing, Ms. Kahn said, is that parents need to find ways to let their children know that their love is unconditional, and that their home is a safe place where anything can be discussed. Adolescence can be a secretive time, but “it’s the role of the parents to try to create the open path,” she said. “The adults have to do a little work here.”

In other words, Ms. Kahn said, the job of the grown-ups is to help guide their children through adolescence. The terrain may be unfamiliar, but the role is not. It’s called parenting.

I find it impossible to understand those who subscribe to the importance of family and then turn around and reject their children who are gay. (Thanks to people like Tony Perkins.) Maybe they need to learn what parenting is -- it's not creating little clones of yourself. It's preparing your children to lead an independent life.