At What Age Should Children Be Introduced to Books with Transgender Characters?

[Anonymous]

We do a disservice to children when we try to take something incredibly nuanced and complex and try to oversimplify, and in doing so, provide incorrect information, simply because we want to explain something that is not age-appropriate.

Reading a book to children about a boy who realizes he likes butterflies and hates sports and therefore must be a girl is not only confusing to children but completely sexist and an oversimplification.

A 5-year-old brain is not able to fully understand the depths of gender, what it means, what makes someone "female" or not, etc. It's one thing if a child has a trans family member or someone in their circle for which having a book that represents a very unique experience may be valuable, but to include it in a group setting, like as a classroom book, is something else altogether.

Children should learn about race and racism, but do we dive right into slavery and show kids pictures of lynching in kindergarten?