Little Smyals, through the SMYAL LGBT youth organization in DC, is super great! Cannot recommend it enough. Lots of great activities for kids that age, including a book club and a youth group!

See if you can check out the groups on your own a bit before pulling in your child. I have been glad I did this in a different situation where the groups can vary quite a bit, made sure it was going to be an overall good group before bringing kid.

Anonymous wrote:Parent of genderqueer/nonconforming kid here. Honestly, I'd avoid LGBTQ+ "youth groups" at this age because they are dominated by kids who are struggling and have other challenges.

Instead, look for activities where your child will meet other gender expansive kids, like art and theater.

I’m a trans adult - have been living as trans for 10+ years, successful, happy, good job, wonderful partner etc.
I have seen the above with adult trans groups - not all of them, but many of them are predominantly populated by regulars who have some real issues and might not be a great long term fit.

TBH, seeing a bunch of folks with issues might be a little challenging for your child and make them feel that a future as gender expansive means - a lot of other issues. That said, it probably would be helpful for them to meet people across the gender spectrum and help them get some data points of the many options out there available to them.

My recommendation might be to make a list of groups (Rainbow Families, PFLAG, school GSAs, etc) and try them all out once or twice, try to meet a few folks who seem to be doing well, and then continue the friendship outside of those groups. Of course, if the group is great and well-facilitated, that’s great!

Best of luck, you are being a great parent here OP!!!

We have a gender expansive 11 yr old and would love to get more tied in with other similar parents/ families kids locally. Any suggestions on ways to meet folks in the DMV?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rainbow Families welcomes families with queer kids as well as families with queer parents.

https://rainbowfamilies.org/

This forum is pretty virulent about trans and nonbinary identities in general but especially with tweens/teens fyi.

Thanks. I’m not the OP but I have a kiddo who is non-binary and need some support from other parents.

Glad it helped someone! It’s a pretty chill organization, largely focused on family friendly activities (picnics, get-togethers, camping, etc) but they run a bunch of peer support groups as well that I’ve enjoyed. Not sure if there’s one for parents of lgbtq+ kids but you could certainly call and ask!

Anonymous wrote:Rainbow Families welcomes families with queer kids as well as families with queer parents.

https://rainbowfamilies.org/

This forum is pretty virulent about trans and nonbinary identities in general but especially with tweens/teens fyi.

Thanks. I’m not the OP but I have a kiddo who is non-binary and need some support from other parents.

Check with DC Children's Hospital. Great program there.

I haven’t been in a few years, but Rainbow Families was good for my wife and me (lesbians) when we were trying to meet other families. It was just picnics and family-friendly meetups so might be worth checking out

Rainbow Families welcomes families with queer kids as well as families with queer parents.

https://rainbowfamilies.org/

This forum is pretty virulent about trans and nonbinary identities in general but especially with tweens/teens fyi.

Many middle schools have "Pride" clubs, that might be of interest to your child in 1-2 years.

Parent of genderqueer/nonconforming kid here. Honestly, I'd avoid LGBTQ+ "youth groups" at this age because they are dominated by kids who are struggling and have other challenges.

Instead, look for activities where your child will meet other gender expansive kids, like art and theater.

Are you in MoCo? There is a good group there and I can find the name.

Any other local parents of a 10-12 year old gender expansive kiddo interested in connecting ? Our son and family are not currently connected with any local LGBQT resources and it would be wonderful to meet some local families with a similar aged child.