Hi, I have a 15yr old son who came out to us about 3yrs ago. We always suspected it. At that stage we used to monitor his phone and there was a conversation between he and a friend saying I don’t know how to tell my parents. It took hours for him to pluck up the courage to tell us and he was crying and we were playing guessing games and when he told my husband my husband said oh is that all, can we go to Mardi gra. We asked him if he wanted us to tell his brother who was three years older. His brothers response was ‘yeah I know, he likes dancing and can I go back to playing my games now’. Our family is extremely open and supportive of the LBTQI community. I admit I cried when I got to work the next day not because he was gay but because I was scared for him as some people are just awful. All my work friends were supportive and are supportive of the LBTQI community. We have been open and supportive and he is confident with his sexuality. He asked to go to Mardi gra with his friends from his new school land I said no initially as I thought my husband and I were away that night but I said no out of fear of him being in a space where he could be vulnerable and us being so far away. I had to stop reading social media posts over the Mardi gra weekend as I was disgusted and saddened with some of the comments people wrote about the LBTQI community. My eldest son stopped talking to a friend last year and I asked why they had a falling out and he told me he found out that friend was making fun of his brother with other friends behind his back and talking in a bay voice. While I was saddened that the friendship ended I was proud of my son for sticking up for his brother despite him being aware of what was going on. Continue to love, encourage and support your child. Be open with them about the minority groups and that them people don’t matter.
... View more
