Dear Miss Laura,

My daughter is 9-1/2 years old and has always identified as a male. As she grew older, my husband and I thought she just wanted to be like a boy, but she has made it very clear over and over again that she wants to be a boy. She tells me that in her heart and in her head she is a boy but she was born into a girls body. We only shop in the boys section for clothes and recently I gave in and let her have a boys hair cut. All strangers just assume she is my son. My husband and I have stop correcting people and our daughter Tifanny now goes by the gender neutral nickname- TJ.

My child through the age of about 5 to present has been very angry, agressive and depressed. She has had suicidal ideation a couple of times and has been under the care of a psychiatrist since the age of 6. She is on antidepressents, but even though the depression has subsided, the need to be a boy has not. They have been addressing her "gender identity" issues, but it's only been within the past month that I have met with a gender pychologist who will be helping my child. I have also met with an endrocrinologist who is willing to put her on hormone stoppers so that she doesn't develop into a female. This will put her development in a state of limbo until she is older and able to make a more informed decision.

Is my child too young to really know she is transgendered? Will my husband and I be making a mistake in allowing our child to make a transition at such a young age? Is there any way she'll wake up one day and say "I hate my parents for letting me turn into a boy?"

Thanks in advance for your advice,

Loving Parent

Dear Loving Parent,