“Is a Mother’s Guilt Justified? The Shocking Transformation of a 9-Year-Old into a Karate-Wielding Defender”
Image credits: Kindel Media (not the actual photo)
Many parents nowadays have to deal with similar judgments and pressures that ‘Alex’s’ parents had to deal with in this story. To u/TrueNefariousness462, this just doesn’t make sense. “Why choose hate?”
“A person’s, especially a child’s, identity is ever-growing, not supporting their individuality is just like cutting a flower off at its roots. We want what’s best for our children, and we want them to grow up in a world [that] is better than the one we grew up in: the only way that will happen is acceptance.”
“Children struggling with their identity may feel like they are different but [don’t] know why they feel that way. It’s your job as a parent to foster that feeling and allow them the safe space to figure it out. It’s also okay to admit that you need help as a parent too.”
“It’s hard, especially when you don’t think you know how to help, but you do, just be open and honest. Talk to your child without judgment or fear, your child is still your child, nothing will ever change that. They are still the same person inside, they will always be your baby.”
u/TrueNefariousness462 also had some encouraging words for parents whose children might be going through something similar, and to such children as well. “[To] all people who have struggled with gender identity, [whose] parents or peers have made their lives more difficult for being themselves, for anyone afraid to show the world who they truly are: please be the beautiful butterfly you are, you only make this world brighter, and you deserve to shine. Thank you for being you, I am glad you’re here.”
The Redditor also encourages adults and their children alike to not hesitate and sign up for martial arts classes. “You won’t regret it,” she says. “Be kind to each other, don’t waste your time and energy on hate.”
Some people congratulated the mom for raising such a strong-willed girl, others cautioned to teach her about the responsibility that comes with power
