“My child is asking about ‘gender diversity’, but I don’t know what it means.”

‘Love is love’ is a common slogan. It means all love is real and all love is equal.

In Australia, marriage equality is the law. And there are lots of other initiatives to make sure people who identify as ‘queer’ or LGBTIQA+ feel safe to be themselves.

But it can be hard to know how to help children feel comfortable with all expressions of gender and sexuality – especially for parents and caregivers who may not have had that comfort when they were growing up.

Our children already live in a community with many people of different gender and sexual orientations, but some may need help accepting and understanding this.

When we help children accept people of all gender identities, we are helping them to be part of an inclusive community.

We are also helping them to accept their unique selves.

Some books help celebrate the many different ways people express themselves, without mentioning ‘gender’ or ‘sexuality’ at all.

A Crayon’s Story, by Michael Hall, takes a fun and gentle approach to explore the importance of letting people be their true selves. In the same way Free Range Freddy, by Rachel Bright, reveals how we when we step back and let people express themselves we can all have a happier, more colourful life.

You can venture a little further into the wide spectrum of gender expression with My Shadow is Purple, by Scott Stuart. In this story, a little boy leads classmates into celebrating every colour of the rainbow. The book has been translated into many languages and is inspired by the author’s own experience of parenting.

For more direct support with gender diversity in your family, try Parents of Gender Diverse Children and Minus18 as great starting points.