How can I teach my son that being gay is normal and love is love?

You’ve done a great job! He doesn’t have to agree with how others love, as long as he doesn’t bully or show hate towards them. He is entitled to his own views.

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I can’t not even BELIEVE some of these comments. And to think we’ve progressed as a society. Some of you should be ASHAMED OF YOURSELVES. Absolutely disgusting.

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Make sure he understands being gay is not a choice. Ask him if he chooses to like girls. Explain to him that just like he didn’t choose to like the opposite gender, people don’t choose to like the same gender and we are all just people looking for love and acceptance.

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I think its wonderful how youve tried to bring them up without hate we need more of that. As far as him not accepting it i think you need to tell him if he doesnt accept it its his decision but needs to be kept to himself because he could hurt others saying what he said to you about it to others who dont feel the same. It may not be his form of normal but for the people who love each other it is normal for them and its not fair to say otherwise

So disgusting with half of these comments some of you woman are terrible people and should be ashamed I pray yall dont have kids your raising into this society.

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Ask him how he will feel about being judged for who he loves. Ask him when he chose to be straight.
Ask him how it effects him that others love different

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The cult with the sky daddy kink is at it again

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nothing u can do. dont force him to ne ok wkth itm the more u force him to be ok woth it thebmore hell grow to hate it. hes allowed to judge amd think its weird. its when he starts bullying gays is when its an issue
leave it be.

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It’s his choice. Don’t try and change it.

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Some of you got triggered by this post :woman_facepalming:t2:

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Continue to teach him tolerance, respect and dignity for all of life. Also, teach him about the diversity and variety of human beings, that we are born with infinite differences. Perhaps he doesn’t know for example about intersex folk. They don’t choose this, it’s how they are. Likewise, being gay or straight isn’t a choice, it just is. Like our eye colour. It’s genetics, science, facts. Approach this logically but emphasise that you will not allow hateful or disrespectful behaviour or speech from him. Continue to role model kindness and love.

I’d just explain that he does not have to agree with or accept it but he still has to always treat people , nomatter their sexual orientation, with respect & dignity. You can’t change a persons mind & it’s fine that he doesn’t agree with it , as long as he isn’t being mean and is still treating them like people it’s fine.

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Tell him the truth .Its Adam and eve . Not adam and Steve.

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Honestly if that’s his opinion, teach there’s a correct way of expressing it without being super hateful about it.

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He is 11. You give him a base of tolerance and understanding but honestly there are a ton of things boys find gross at 11 that they won’t when they are older.

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Why are you trying to convince him of anything? I taught my children to love and respect others … period. They knew anything less wouldn’t be tolerated. I have 5 children. All taught the same way, all have their own opinions about everything from sexuality to politics and we all still love each other. I think you need to practice what you’re preaching. If you want him to be ok with someone else’s choices, let him be ok with his.

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He probably is learning it from someone else at school. The best you can do is try to talk to him and have him have an open mind. Not force him to do or feel anything , but educate him a little more and try and see why and where he got those feelings from.

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Keep having conversations. Keep answering questions. I once was a very closed minded person but one day it clicked for me… like i could not understand how my cousin could be so full of hate for his own child for being IN LOVE. His child just wanted to share his love for that person with the family and was shit on for it. Like who has that right to tell someone they dont deserve love.

There’s a big difference between not personally liking something someone else does, but still having respect for it and being overall disrespectful of it and judgemental. You’re not wrong for wanting him to be understanding of other lifestyles, but you can’t force something on him he doesn’t believe in. I don’t believe in God, but I don’t discount other people’s beliefs and still try to accommodate them when others mention it. It’s respect for one another that has really gotten lost in this time of age and as parents we need to instill that back in our kids. Kids act on learned behavior.

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He’s so young. He probably thinks girls have cooties and kissing is ewww… I wouldn’t worry just yet if he’s not on board with it all.

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He’s absolutely right - it’s not normal. Normal is male and female in all animals and plants and the only way to reproduce. Normal is also the most usual and typical state or condition. That’s not to say that some people do not feel differently and are not attracted sexually to the opposite sex. Just teach him to respect and love all people.

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I just reserved the book “Raising LGBTQ Allies
A Parent’s Guide to Changing the Messages From the Playground” by Chris Tompkins from my library. Maybe this would be a good resource for you as well.
ETA:
Mom & Mayhem there sure are a lot of homophobic comments popping up in your comments section. :thinking:

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I mean, if he’s uncomfortable with it, that’s okay too. Everybody doesn’t have to agree with it, like it, be ok with it…. But they do need to let people live in their own happy life. Just teach him to not judge and let people live their own lives.

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The best thing to teach is it’s not ours to judge or justify. Everyone walks their own path. Sometimes the trail is easy, sometimes not.

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Probably something you just need to talk about with them. Find out where it’s coming from

Did you ever think that maybe, he feels uncomfortable about it because you have brought it up too much? I’m not saying it’s a bad thing at all, but I know that when I would get the talk about the birds and the bees too often, I despised it. It’s alright if he doesn’t support the idea of same sex relationships, but you should also tell him that he should still treat them like humans. People form their own ideas everyday, and when people try to force their own ideology onto them, it makes them despise the ideology. If he is morally correct and fine, he will learn to make moral decisions.

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Just teach him to be tolerant. ‘Normal’ is a subjective term. There are many people who he will come in contact with throughout his life…some will be ‘normal’ and some won’t. It is more important to be tolerant.

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I think you are doing a great job by bringing this subject up with him, and trying your best to teach love is love, unfortunately we live in a world full of hate, and your son (like any other child) does have his own brain, feelings and will form his own opinion. My advice would be to ask him “why do you not like gay people”, “how does someone being gay affect your life” “is this person hurting anyone simply by loving someone who has the same body parts as them” if he gives reasonable answers, that’s fine. The best you could do them is to teach him to be tolerant, and respectful. :heart:
Good luck, you’re doing a great job.

Sounds like he has made a sound choice for himself. With the knowledge u have given him. And I say it that way b/c he won’t ever understand or grasp it fully unless he was in a same sex relationship. Living it and seeing it are 2 different things. Just remind him, it may not be something that he is ok with for himself, but that doesn’t mean that it’s wrong. Might be weird to him, but it’s not weird to others. Love is love. And we ALL should be allowed to love whoever we want. Whether it’s same sex or not.

Let him be. He also has a right to not like something and to question things .
Let him make his own decisions. As long as you have and are raising a compassionate and open minded person and someone who can talk about the things they don’t understand or like then that is all that matters .

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Let him live. Most veiws change over time. He has to be able to use his skills in order to develop them.

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You are supposed to love the person but hate the sin god made two man and women

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Good for him. You are the problem. Shoving this shit down your children’s throat at a young age?. Go get your head examined.

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Just have a conversation with him. Let him express how he feels about it and why it bothers him. Open conversation with your children is the best route. They need to know we want to hear their sides and opinions on all things in life. Let him know it’s ok to not accept it as long as he’s kind. You can dislike something or not agree with something without hate

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Let him have his own belief/opinion on life just like you do! Shouldn’t teach him to think like you or anybody else he is his own person.

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Tell your child that it’s not meant to be…its wrong, and you should show them what GOD says about it…Leviticus 18:22…may be YOU should read it, too.

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Tell you son he’s right read the Bible and God is against homosexuality and the gay lifestyle he is so right tell him to read the Bible himself and get the scriptures on it and I think he’s great he knows deep down in his heart that it’s wrong and yes God is against it

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Keep the dialog going - there will always be people who make different choices than he would make about all kinds of things. While he doesn’t have to cheer for those choices, tolerance for others and understanding boundaries is vital. I would hope that he has not had a sexual advance from anyone that my have prompted this. Otherwise, he is entitled to his own feelings, and those feelings will mature.

Make him aware that it’s ok that he doesn’t think it is for him but he can’t judge others on being themselves. Maybe get him involved in a local lgbt+ youth club ? Let him see people who are gay r no different from him they still do and will enjoy all activities he does it doesn’t make them different than him

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If they want to love a boy they love a boy if they want to love a girl they love a girl. Its their life just teach him hate is wrong

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well, he’s right, it is wrong, that doesn’t mean you should treat someone bad just because you don’t agree with them

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Peer pressure probably.

I always told my two children it’s ok and that women can be with women men with men. —.

But I myself don’t actually agree but that’s just my opinion s.

Being gay is NOT normal, God made two genders MAN, WOMAN, I will not condemn a Gay person. Not my place to do so. To each his own. But I would NEVER in a million yrs teach a child that being Gay is normal. NO one should be unkind or cruel to gay people. no one should be that way to anyone, So you teaching your child that is most certainly right.

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Continue to teach him kindness and to think for himself…not to have others influence his thinking…children do not want to be different than their peers…so they tend to go along with things…we dont have to agree to be kind and understanding…with our human race

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As long as he doesn’t treat people poorly because of it, I don’t think it is necessarily a problem? Just tell him that people are people, regardless of their sexuality, beliefs etc, and should be treated with love and respect. Just because he doesn’t agree with it, doesn’t mean he is wrong - he may be uncomfortable with the idea, and he is fully entitled to have his own opinion, as long as he does not treat people badly because of his opinion :blush:
The problem today is that so many people try to force opinions on you, things that might make you uncomfortable for whatever reason, and so it causes a negative association, exacerbating the problem - if we all treated people as equals, regardless of creed, colour, or characteristic, then society would be a better place!

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I would use the approach of maybe one of the siblings might be gay and ask how he would feel about them. They are his sibling and I hope he would still love them. I work as a support worker with disabled people and I do it mainly to show my kids that no matter what people look like they deserve to be treated like everyone else

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Teach your kid respect. We dont have to agree or understand everyone’s life but we donhave to respect each other. I dont understand everyone’s religion or culture but I respect them.

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I would ask where this opinion is coming from. Have a serious conversation about why he feels this way. Did another kid at school say something? Good luck.

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I love that you have an open relationship with your kids to let them discuss these things in a non judgemental way. But you should treat this the exact same way as racism or sexism. You wouldn’t be okay with your child coming home and saying he doesn’t agree with people of another race and they made him uncomfortable. Lgbtq+ people don’t have a choice over their sexuality the same way people have no choice over their skin colour.
Just teach him that while its okay to feel that way. It is NEVER okay to make someone else feel discriminated against or threatened. Its easier to just look past your differences and appreciate people regardless of these things.

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Bottom line is, not everyone thinks that Gay is normal, so be it! I for one don’t have an issue with it, but my Hubby does. So I say to him, everyone deserve’s to be happy, and if that is how some people live their live’s, so be it, nobody is being hurt and they sure are not hurting us. You don’t have to believe but you do have to respect other people’s decision’s, regardless of what it is. I would be teaching your son what the word respect mean’s!

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I have always taught my kids that ‘normal’ was over rated and something most people are not. I fact being weird in my house is a term of endearment.

Talk about why he feels this way, he is entitled to have an opinion & feel the way he does, he can’t & shouldn’t be forced to have the views of others but teach him to have respect for those that choose a lifestyle & opinion he doesn’t agree with, we can all have different views & opinions on everything but it’s the respect and way of expressing these views/opinions that makes the difference

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You can’t help who you fall in love with. The way a gay man looks at another man is with the same eyes a straight woman would. Feelings are unexpected and we fall for who our heart chooses. If you didn’t approve of his future girlfriend, he’d expect you to deal with it and at least pretend to approve because he ‘loves’ her. He should do the same.

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I would ask him straight up, why do you feel this way? There’s gotta be a reason, and helping him to think through it with your tolerant beliefs may be the way :heart::pray:

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I’d kind of take an approach of “well this person that you know, love, and respect, what if they were gay?” I was brought up similar to how you’re raising your kids, but I went to catholic school and picked up some negative attitudes that I had to unlearn again and realizing people I knew were LGBTQ+ definitely helped as a kid

He’ll grow out of it. He’s just being a kid and following his friends opinions. Just keep teaching him to be kind regardless of his opinion. If he doesn’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.

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This age is the beginning of the rebellion of parental values for your son.
I think the lesson you want to impart in light of his current views is this: you don’t have to support it or like it, BUT you must be kind! He should take a “not my cup of tea” stance, BUT ALWAYS BE KIND.

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Ask him what has made him feel this way and go from there . You have instilled in your family love and respect for all. That’s all you can do. Other influences are entering his life and talking is a great start. You sound a wonderful parent and maybe only experience of life with hopefully show your son the right path to follow.

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Everyone needs to have their feelings. I would tell anyone don’t judge someone else’s feelings about love and relationships.What is good and right for 1 person isn’t everyone’s feelings. Just don’t openly hate anyone because of their race or sexuality. Just live your best life.

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Tell him it’s ok to have his own opinion he doesn’t have to accept how people to choose to be or live to support them I support many that I don’t agree with or accept how they live

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As a momma, do your best to listen. He will try different ideas as he evolves. Keep your values. Life is life and love is love.

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How wonderful he felt comfortable sharing his opinion with u… Knowing it wasn’t ur view. Keeping the talk going is big. At 11, it’s just not the easiest time in life. A light touch might be best.
(Non - negotiable is the respectful way he treats others.) :thinking:. I think it will be fine.

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I would have a good sit down with him and get to the root of this. What is making him now feel this way? Is it peer pressure? Is he just trying to “fit it” with a certain group of kids who may hold this opinion? If he was raised knowing that it’s okay then something happened to change his opinion :woman_shrugging:t3:

Perhaps, showing respect to what he believes in is the first step. One day, he will realised all these. You’re doing great to teach your kids to be open. Children aren’t only listening but also tend to adopt the environment they are in. not agreeing to your opinion is also ok. Eventually, he will realise things as he grows older. As long as he doesn’t hurt anybody nor state his opinion and purposely hurt anyone then, there is nothing to worry. He is allowed to have his own opinion just like each of us. My daughter said the same. now, that she is older, She doesn’t care nor judge anybody. She even said it… as long as they are happy that’s what it matters.
My daughter’s classmate told her God is not real. Her response was…ok…then, she also answered her classmate that’s you. And your beliefs about God not existing is ok too. I just don’t know why you are telling me. Contradiction tho. My daugther is enrolled in catholic school. Teaching them about God and praying. Clearly, just like my daughter, your son hear that from somebody. That’s how kids are till they grow up and learn things by themselves.

That’s fine if he doesn’t support gay people… But aslong as he knows to keep his opinions to himself if it’s not kind or helpful to others! As he gets older just keep reminding him how we are all the same and loving someone is about personality not looks or sexuality.

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You dont. He can believe what he wants. Im glad my kids have their own minds and arent followers. And kids arent capable of putting themselves in others shoes. Ppl need to stop pushing agendas

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He doesnt have to support it per se as long as he doesnt make others feel bad about it.

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I’m wondering why he suddenly feels that way and who is influencing him like that :thinking: a friend ? A teacher or coach? Maybe talk to him about where these ideas came from.

It’s sad he feels that way but yeah all you can do is stress that if he truly feels that way he should keep it to himself because hate speech is hurtful. and gay straight or whatever, he should never have the intention of hurting others. He doesn’t have to agree with how others live their life but he can just look the other way.

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Listen up; the kid’s onto something.

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Respect his feelings about the subject. Don’t try to change his mind. This is a great opportunity to teach him its okay to have a difference of opinions, but we must treat people with kindness and respect even when we dont understand or agree! :heart:

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Sounds like you have been open with him his whole life…you telling him, love is love. It is…but HOW you love is way different and he may not be comfortable with that. I have 2 kids…one was born as Valerie but now Frank. He has a girlfriend that identifies as neither or both, depending on how you look at it. I also have a son who is about to marry a person born as Karl, but is now a surgery enhanced Joyce. We TOTALLY accept them as how they now identify. We never told them it is ‘normal’, as it’s not, it’s the exception. But it doesn’t mean it’s wrong, it’s just not what the majority think of as normal, but it is for them and that’s all that matters. They are extremely happy…as are we. You have been actually promoting LGBT when you should just be accepting of it. It’s not for everyone and has many hardships. Main thing is, you promote acceptance over hate. It sounds like you did that, but have taken it a bit too far by telling your son it’s normal. Well, if they are normal and your son is not gay, then he is thinking…I’m not normal then, cause I’m not like them. He is entitled to his own opinion, and it seems like you are telling him he is not entitled to his own opinion if it is different than yours. He may feel that is how you expect him to be. I don’t know your whole story of course, I’m only coming from the past experiences we had. You’re a good mom teaching acceptance…just don’t push your opinions on him. It is ok for him not to agree as long as he doesn’t hate people for their choices.

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Ok so let him know he’s entitled to feel that way but he needs to keep that opinion to himself.

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I don’t think he has to like it it’s his opinion and choice but what you can do before it’s to late is teach him we’re all real humans who deserve respect no matter age sex bi Les trans gay.

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Thats his opinion, hes entitled to that, youve done your job and by all accounts a very good one, just keep on that path, he may well change his mind once in highschool if one of his friends is gay, dont be angry with him because of his opinion

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You will have many opportunities to discuss discrimination on many levels, simply by discussing what’s on t.v. let it happen naturally. Certainly there are many books. Even Sesame St. Is addressing this.

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It is good that he feels comfortable expressing his thoughts to you knowing that you feel differently.

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He doesn’t have to support something he is not into just tell him to be kind.

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Just let him know everyone’s different and everyone approaches life different it’s okay for them to do what they do and it’s okay for him to do what he does and whether he’s okay with it or not he should still hold up boundaries and respect for other people.

I’m surprised that (as far as I can see…)no one has said this. Could he be gay, or be noticing he feels/likes differently to friends, so is trying to change his feelings? May not be the case, but just something to think about. X

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I believe exposing him to anyone that you know that is gay. Knowing people who are different than the mainstream can let him see/experience the humanity in a gay person. Also exposure to a variety of races can help as well. Most of all teach him love.

Ask him what’s unnatural about 2 people loving each other? It may seem strange at first, but no one should have to live in secrecy for being themselves. Plus, people are people. Our sexual orientation isn’t what defines us. Our morals, values and actions do.

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I’d talk to him but say little, get him to explain where he’s coming from. I’d probably eventually say things like, i wouldn’t want to have blonde (or whatever) hair but some people do and it doesn’t change anything about them, there’s nothing wrong with them, it’s how they were born and it makes no difference in what type of friend they are. But at first I wouldn’t say anything because who knows why he’s suddenly saying this stuff.

He can feel whatever way he pleases. He doesn’t have to like it or support it. It’s his opinion, and his opinion is valid, but he shouldn’t judge or discriminate or belittle someone because of someone else’s decision to live their life the way they see fit. Live and let live.

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Since he was raised to think differently, I’d be finding out pretty damn quick who’s influenced him and make damn sure he’s not being bullied into mob mentality at school.

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Hes heard that somewhere possibly school friends
Its very hard you need to explain the fact that he cannot have that opinion as it is a hate crime if he does act on it and will be arrested for it unfortunately it does happen but there are books to buy and stuff and you can show him the laws on the gov website etc
You could try and explain how if it was ‘weird’ then people would still be being killed legally for it the fact that there were laws against it
Love it love and i hope you manage to get through to him x

I would be asking him if he fully understands what gay means and then move along with why he thinks its not ok.

He is entitled to his view as long as he is not malicious. Just keep up the normal.message and can explain his thoughts (that I believe is important)

He doesnt have to agree with it, just respect it while he is being respected also.

I have gay friends but I don’t believe it’s right because of my religious beliefs. Its their life not mine. I am respectable to them and we get along great. If people say you have to say its normal then you are disrespectful to the person whose believe different so what is the difference in judgment?

well, sounds like you’re still trying to force your opinion on him!
just let him be and believe what he want…
he’s only 11!!
within that age being gay probably still is kinda weird for most kids cause they may not understand it yet, but opinions can still change…
i bet he got that from other kids, but that’s not final!
and even if, i think it’s okay as long he doesn’t hurt other people for being gay or different…
i think THAT is the most important lesson here!
you don’t have to like everything what other people do or how they live, but you can still accept it and just let them be!

Depends on what’s normal it’s not normal to put your sexual preference out there so you should teach your kids it’s a personal preference but he should respect his brother for his brother and not his sexual preference love is not sexual why are 11 years thinking of sex ah shit the tv off smh :man_facepalming:

I would say “I’m a bit sad about that, like I would be if you said you weren’t ok with POC or girls or anyone not like you”

He doesn’t have like or agree with it, but he definitely should respect their choices.

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Peer pressure I expect. Keep the positive message. Gently going. See if he will explain how he reached that conclusion

I would ask why he feels that way. It opens a dialogue as to where they’re getting these ideas from. Then challenge those ideas. You don’t have to be a jerk about it, but ask questions that make him think.

He’s 11!!! He will.change his mind more times than he changes his pants!!!

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Don’t say anything he will make up his mind when he is older.