Children: Difference between revisions

It is often thought that young children are incapable of understanding [[transgender]] and [[nonbinary]] identities, but this is untrue. Additionally, "No harm is done on an individual or societal level if a child has the option of exploring their [[gender identity]] from early on," even if the child later turns out to be [[cisgender]].<ref name="Myths">{{Cite web |title=Overcoming Myths in Legal Gender Recognition Discussions |author=Transgender Europe |work=tgeu.org |date= |access-date=10 October 2020 |url= https://tgeu.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Toolkit16_OvercomingMyths.pdf}}</ref>

In rare cases, parents choose to raise their child without [[Assigned gender|assigning a gender]] to them, allowing the child to come to their [[gender identity]] on their own as they grow up. These children can be known as "theybies" (mixture of the words "[[Singular they|they]]" and "babies"). The concept of raising "theybies" became popularized in the 2010s, especially after media coverage in 2011 of a Canadian couple and their child named [[Neutral names starting with S|Storm]].<ref name="Compton">{{Cite web |title='Boy or girl?' Parents raising 'theybies' let kids decide |author=Compton, Julie |work=NBC News |date=19 July 2018 |access-date=18 April 2021 |url= https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/boy-or-girl-parents-raising-theybies-let-kids-decide-n891836}}</ref>

Different to raising a child as a "theyby" is the concept of gender-neutral parenting, which is the practice of parenting without enforcing [[gender roles]] or gender norms. Gender-neutral parenting relies on the idea that a child's [[sex assigned at birth]] should not dictate what clothes they are allowed to wear, what toys they are allowed to play with, etc.<ref>{{Cite web |title=5 Myths About Gender Neutral Parenting |last=Lucas-Stannard |first=Paige |work=Everyday Feminism |date=8 January 2013 |access-date=13 November 2021 |url= https://everydayfeminism.com/2013/01/gender-neutral-parenting-myths/}}</ref>