Check out this fascinating NPR piece at  about parents considering “Dutch protocol” treatment to delay their son’s puberty in an effort to buy time to resolve gender crisis.

Gender identity disorder is the label most psychiatrists and psychologists give to children who believe themselves to be born into the wrong biological body. It involves a range of behaviors, but on one end of the spectrum there are children like Armand: kids who are more than effeminate boys or masculine girls who may turn out to be gay in adulthood. These are children who genuinely believe they are girls even though they have a male body or boys, even though they have a female body.

The treatment has been offered in the United States only for around four years. Essentially, kids who meet the criteria for gender identity disorder are given monthly injections of a medication that blocks their bodies from releasing sex hormones. This means that while the children continue to grow taller, for the three or four years they are on the medication, they are kept from maturing sexually.[NPR.org]

If you’re a parent dealing with a transgender child, and visit TransYouth Family Advocates at http://imatyfa.org/ . This coalition of parents, friends and caring adults is dedicated to educating and raising public awareness about the medical and cultural challenges faced by children with gender variant and gender questioning identities and the families who love them.