It's no doubt that transgender children's lives aren't easy. They must have felt being stuck in a boy's body and feeling like a girl deep in their heart. Other kids have been forced to hide their true gender identities to conform to the public, but other youngsters have been lucky and have the freedom to dress in accordance to the gender they identify with.
Warner Schaettgen has identified herself as a girl since she was 2 years old, wearing female clothing in private but wearing boys' clothes in public, according to Today's Parent. This arrangement negatively impacted the child, so her parents decided to allow her to do what makes her truly happy.
During the last two years, Warner has lived fully as a girl. She grew out her hair, wore girls' clothes both in private and public and referred to herself using the pronouns 'her' and 'she.' Warner's mother, Melissa, said her daughter will likely start taking puberty blockers next year.
Puberty blockers work by suppressing the pituitary gland from releasing LH (luteinizing hormone) and FSH (follicle stimulating hormone), according to TransActive Gender Center. It stops the testes from releasing testosterone and the ovaries from releasing estrogen. This means that puberty is suppressed.
Elijah, another transgender kid, gravitated towards girls' things as early as 4 years old. Though his parents, Kimberley and Jason Manning, are open-minded to various gender identities, they felt "guilt and shame" at first when it's clear that Elijah identifies with a gender other than his own.
Elijah was enrolled by his parents in a public alternative school that has inclusive policies and supports LGBTQ groups. Since he started studying there in grade one, Elijah thrived and even the school staff made efforts to support the child.
M, a 9-year-old in Toronto, was born female but identifies with both genders and at times, non-gendered. Rebecca (who asked her child to be identified by her initial) said that M uses female pronouns but uses boys' clothes.
For M, public gendered bathrooms can be stressful. The child refuses to go into washrooms with 'girl' or 'boy' labels and instead chooses to pee or use grocery bathrooms that are single-stall and un-gendered. Rebecca said that this predicament caused gender non-conforming children to develop bladder infections.
As of late, the exact number of transgender children is still unknown. Local surveys have been done, though.
In Dane County, Wisconsin, a study found that 1.5 percent out of 18,494 high school students identify themselves as transgender. Other surveys found that there are more teenagers than adults who consider themselves as transgender, The New York Times reported.
