Cris Beam Cris Beam    What started as a talk about being a mom
and why she wrote I Am J as a book for kids (she thought trans
teens needed more books written for them rather than about them)
morphed into a discussion of the one poignant reality of
parenting -- you have to set aside your pre-conceived notions
and just parent YOUR kid. So with Beam's help, here's a look at
the pre-conceived mythologies of transgender kids:  I Am JLittle
kids don't know enough to be trans -- Transgender kids begin to
show signs of their discomfort with their own gender as early as
2, 3, or 4. "It's not like homosexuality where you have a crush
on a girl in your Spanish class in seventh grade and begin to
realize you're gay," Beam explained. Young kids begin to see
society's take on gender early on -- when a girl has a doll
shoved in her face or a boy is told he can't wear a tutu, and
they have their own natural feelings about that.  You can "fix"
transgender kids -- What trans kids need isn't someone trying to
pretend they aren