Let’s Chat: Parents who love unconditionally

By Linda Tooth on April 17, 2024.

Being a parent in today’s world certainly has its challenges and rewards. As a parent it is your responsibility to ensure your children are happy, healthy and living the best life they can in a supportive home. Unfortunately, not all children have that.

As a co-host of the podcast Cats, Community and Conversation, I recently had the opportunity to chat with Ash and Kim from Medicine Hat who are parents of two children, one of whom is a transgender female.

They are doing everything in their power to ensure their children are living the happy and healthy lives they deserve. As parents of a transgender female child, they have embraced who their child is and are fighting to ensure their child has all the resources they will need as they navigate the teenage and adult years. As survivors of those sometimes antagonizing teenage years; life can be heavy and trying.

The UCP government of Alberta has suggested very strongly that proposed changes to legislation will be coming and those changes will severely impact everything Ash and Kim are working toward to ensure happiness for their child and many other children.

I am not an expert on the political landscape or the medical profession, but what I am is a person who cares about people and loves to share their stories. We may not all agree or understand what gender and transitioning are all about, but I am telling you these are people, and they have rights.

In my view, the UCP is trying to take those rights away from people and that is not right. I do not believe the government has educated itself enough on puberty blockers or hormone therapies to be able to make decisions that will ultimately hurt children and their families.

I urge everyone to listen to the episode on our podcast to understand who these incredible humans and parents are as they take you on a journey into the world of gender, and what it means to be parents of a transgender child in the province of Alberta.

Linda Tooth is a communications instructor at Medicine Hat College

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