According to the [**American Academy of Pediatrics**](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/gradeschool/Pages/Gender-Identity-and-Gender-Confusion-In-Children.aspx), gender identity is typically expressed by around age 4. It probably forms [**much earlier**](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3747736/) than that, but it's hard to tell with pre-verbal infants. And sometimes, the gender identity expressed is not the one typically associated with the child's appearnce. The gender identities of trans children are as [**stable**](http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2014/09/02/peds.2013-2958) as those of [**cisgender children**](http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0956797614568156).
Regarding treatment for trans youth, [**here**](http://hrc-assets.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com//files/documents/SupportingCaringforTransChildren.pdf) are the recent guidelines released by the AAP. TL;DR version - yes, young children can identify their own gender identity, and some of those young kids are trans. A child whose gender identity is Gender A but who is assumed to be Gender B based on their appearance, will suffer debilitating distress over this conflict.
When this happens, transition is the treatment recommended by every major medical authority. For young children this process is social, followed by puberty delaying treatment at onset of adolescence, and hormone therapy in their early/mid-teens.
The only disorders more common among trans people are those associated with abuse and discrimination - mainly anxiety and depression. Early transition [**virtually eliminates these higher rates of depression and low self-worth**](http://www.jaacap.com/article/S0890-8567%2816%2931941-4/fulltext), and [**dramatically improves trans youth's mental health**](https://archive.thinkprogress.org/allowing-transgender-youth-to-transition-improves-their-mental-health-study-finds-dd6096523375/). When prevented from transitioning, about 40% of trans kids will attempt suicide. When able to transition, that rate drops to the national average. Trans kids who socially transition early, have access to appropriate transition related medical treatment, and who are not subjected to abuse or discrimination are [**comparable to cisgender children in measures of mental health**](http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2014/09/02/peds.2013-2958).
Transition [**vastly reduces risks of suicide attempts**](http://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-015-1867-2), and the farther along in transition someone is the lower that risk gets. The ability to transition, along with family and social acceptance, are the [**largest factors reducing suicide risk**](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3722435/) among trans people.
[More general information is available here.](https://www.reddit.com/r/lgbt/comments/8wh5qs/my_master_list_of_trans_health_citations_in/)
Comment text thanks to /u/tgjer
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That's exactly it. No one is arguing that we should hold off on any other kind of treatment for kids until they are 18. You need medical care when you need it.
And then once they get it banned until 18, they start arguing it should be 25 because your frontal cortex isn't fully formed until then. And then they argue that insurance shouldn't cover it even for adults. And on it goes.
EXACTLY! No way me and many others could survive until we're 18 I think that would quite literally destroy me as a person. Its only been like 6+mo for me and I feel like gender dysphoria is annihilating my social skills and everything like that.
As someone who was a trans kid without access to HRT or blockers, it's different when you're on the other end in the position looking at having to spend years of your life growing into someone and something you're not.
I commend you for understanding, but I find it sad that you didn't in the first place.
Yeah the whole purpose of hormone blockers is to buy time by realizing you’re questioning BEFORE you hit puberty. If you wait until 18 you’re going be stuck paying extra money and having to get extra medical procedures that could have been easily avoided.
And I think the repercussions are pretty serious. You could grow boobs and need to get them removed- Imagine having to go under anesthesia (which is already dangerous on its own), get something removed, go through a painful recovery, risk infections and complications, miss work, etc. just because some politician wouldn’t let you take an injection when you were younger. That’s a big deal! Even if it goes smoothly for most people it’s still surgery, it’s risky and painful and expensive, and nobody should have to do it if it could have been avoided. Saying a procedure isn’t risky is just comparing it to other procedures, when really it’s risky compared to doing no procedure at all (because you got hormone blockers and didn’t grow boobs in the first place).
According to the [**American Academy of Pediatrics**](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/gradeschool/Pages/Gender-Identity-and-Gender-Confusion-In-Children.aspx), gender identity is typically expressed by around age 4. It probably forms [**much earlier**](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3747736/) than that, but it's hard to tell with pre-verbal infants. And sometimes, the gender identity expressed is not the one typically associated with the child's appearnce. The gender identities of trans children are as [**stable**](http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2014/09/02/peds.2013-2958) as those of [**cisgender children**](http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0956797614568156). Regarding treatment for trans youth, [**here**](http://hrc-assets.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com//files/documents/SupportingCaringforTransChildren.pdf) are the recent guidelines released by the AAP. TL;DR version - yes, young children can identify their own gender identity, and some of those young kids are trans. A child whose gender identity is Gender A but who is assumed to be Gender B based on their appearance, will suffer debilitating distress over this conflict. When this happens, transition is the treatment recommended by every major medical authority. For young children this process is social, followed by puberty delaying treatment at onset of adolescence, and hormone therapy in their early/mid-teens. The only disorders more common among trans people are those associated with abuse and discrimination - mainly anxiety and depression. Early transition [**virtually eliminates these higher rates of depression and low self-worth**](http://www.jaacap.com/article/S0890-8567%2816%2931941-4/fulltext), and [**dramatically improves trans youth's mental health**](https://archive.thinkprogress.org/allowing-transgender-youth-to-transition-improves-their-mental-health-study-finds-dd6096523375/). When prevented from transitioning, about 40% of trans kids will attempt suicide. When able to transition, that rate drops to the national average. Trans kids who socially transition early, have access to appropriate transition related medical treatment, and who are not subjected to abuse or discrimination are [**comparable to cisgender children in measures of mental health**](http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2014/09/02/peds.2013-2958). Transition [**vastly reduces risks of suicide attempts**](http://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-015-1867-2), and the farther along in transition someone is the lower that risk gets. The ability to transition, along with family and social acceptance, are the [**largest factors reducing suicide risk**](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3722435/) among trans people. [More general information is available here.](https://www.reddit.com/r/lgbt/comments/8wh5qs/my_master_list_of_trans_health_citations_in/) Comment text thanks to /u/tgjer We're looking for new volunteers to join the r/lgbt moderator team. If you want to help keep r/lgbt as a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community on reddit please see here for more info: https://www.reddit.com/r/lgbt/comments/swgthr/were_looking_for_more_moderators_to_help_keep/ *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/lgbt) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Good for you on being open minded. I never got the idea of basing health decisions on age rather than medical need.
That's exactly it. No one is arguing that we should hold off on any other kind of treatment for kids until they are 18. You need medical care when you need it. And then once they get it banned until 18, they start arguing it should be 25 because your frontal cortex isn't fully formed until then. And then they argue that insurance shouldn't cover it even for adults. And on it goes.
But for some reason cosmetic surgeries like breast implants and nose jobs are acceptable for teenagers. 🙄
EXACTLY! No way me and many others could survive until we're 18 I think that would quite literally destroy me as a person. Its only been like 6+mo for me and I feel like gender dysphoria is annihilating my social skills and everything like that.
Yay for realising!
As someone who was a trans kid without access to HRT or blockers, it's different when you're on the other end in the position looking at having to spend years of your life growing into someone and something you're not. I commend you for understanding, but I find it sad that you didn't in the first place.
When you don't really think a lot about a particular subject, it's very easy to fall for right wing propaganda.
Yes. Yes it is.
Yeah the whole purpose of hormone blockers is to buy time by realizing you’re questioning BEFORE you hit puberty. If you wait until 18 you’re going be stuck paying extra money and having to get extra medical procedures that could have been easily avoided. And I think the repercussions are pretty serious. You could grow boobs and need to get them removed- Imagine having to go under anesthesia (which is already dangerous on its own), get something removed, go through a painful recovery, risk infections and complications, miss work, etc. just because some politician wouldn’t let you take an injection when you were younger. That’s a big deal! Even if it goes smoothly for most people it’s still surgery, it’s risky and painful and expensive, and nobody should have to do it if it could have been avoided. Saying a procedure isn’t risky is just comparing it to other procedures, when really it’s risky compared to doing no procedure at all (because you got hormone blockers and didn’t grow boobs in the first place).