DD,12, told me via text that she is lesbian. My response was “OK” and I talked to her about it later that day and said that she is loved and supported no matter what but she shouldn’t feel like she needs to define herself and make a lifelong decision at 12 years old. She understood and agreed and was not adamant that this is definitely who she is. She said that DS has known for a while but she wanted me to tell DH. She was not afraid to tell him but just didn’t want to (there is some typical teenage strain with them right now). I told DH a few days later and his feeling was it’s a phase, but not an issue if it’s not.

Recently I was with some mom friends with older DC who said that all of their girls went through a phase of being lesbian in their teens. I definitely know that it is not always a phase but I remembered this conversation when DD told me.

So, I’m just struggling with what to do with this information. I don’t know if it is something I should tell people… I’m thinking no because I wouldn’t tell people my child is straight. I also don’t want to her feel like she has a label she can’t change. But I also want her to feel supported. I’ve also thought about how when she has friends over do I need to enforce rules as I would if a boy was over? No sleepovers or clarify if she is interested in girl ahead of time? I’m just at a loss and wondering if anyone has experiences to share. I can reach out to her school counselor as well who I know will have some insight.