Parenting with Pride: Showing Up for Your LGBTQIA+ Child

Parenting with Pride: Showing Up for Your LGBTQIA+ Child

From Voices of Compassion by CHC

June 3, 2026 · 40 min · Season 6 · Episode 20

About this episode

This episode features a conversation with Callie Turk about the challenges and joys of parenting a transgender child.

Content Note: This episode includes discussion of transgender identity, mental health, depression, self-harm, and suicide. Listener discretion is advised. If you or someone you know is struggling or experiencing thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) in the United States for free, confidential support 24/7. What does it actually feel like to watch your child become more fully themselves – and realize that your child’s journey may ask you to grow alongside them? We sit down with parent and REEL co-founder, Callie Turk, a mom who gets it in her bones. She's not a researcher or a clinician. She's a parent who has lived it – the sleepless nights, the fear of getting it wrong, and the profound, unexpected joy of watching her daughter thrive. She opens up about raising her transgender daughter: what the early days really looked like, how her own assumptions were quietly dismantled, and what she wishes someone had told her when her family was just finding its footing. She talks honestly about the moments that changed her, and why creating a family atmosphere where her daughter feels completely safe and seen has become such a meaningful part of her life…

People in this episode

Guest: Callie Turk

Topics covered

  • parenting
  • LGBTQIA+ support
  • transgender identity
  • mental health
  • family dynamics
  • personal growth

Keywords

  • parenting
  • LGBTQIA+
  • transgender
  • mental health
  • self-harm
  • suicide
  • family support

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: REEL, Suicide & Crisis Lifeline

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