#NationalPARENTS
ComingOutDay

As your child becomes more open, it’s important that you become more open, keeping pace to provide encouragement and emotional help. Parent support begins with being an ally, a safe person to trust, but each further step you take strengthens your child’s awareness that you are with them on their journey.  One way to show support is on October 12 on National Parents Coming Out Day. Held the day after National Coming Out Day on October 11, it’s a day when parents can show support for their LGBTQ child.

We have dozens of suggested actions you can try, but it’s important to remember this is not your story — it’s your child’s story. As you take actions to be more supportive, it’s imperative you do not ’out’ your child beyond their wishes. For that reason, we’ve noted the actions you can take:

• Independently – anytime as a supporter and ally
• Coordinated with your child – based on their need for privacy or openness
• Privately – to find connections for support

A simple, personal action we invite you to take is to share your story anonymously (or view stories from others at Family Stories). This has several benefits:

• It’s completely private – You can share your experience anonymously.
• It helps you practice telling your story – Sometimes reading our own stories gives us insight and practice telling our story that can be helpful as we eventually talk with others.
• It becomes a resource for others – Parents visiting our pages can find stories from parents in similarly sized towns, geography, or family situation. You can be a help and encouragement to others.

If you and your child are comfortable, you can also post on social media. It’s simple. Click one of these Facebook Photo Albums to easily share a post:

• If you are a parent of LGBTQ
• If you are an LGBTQ person
• If you are a supportive organization or ally

More sample text posts are available as well.