Most ten year old children cannot legally

get a tattoo. They cannot legally drink alcohol. They cannot legally smoke cigarettes. They are not supposed to access pornography or X-rated films. They have very little idea about how they (and everyone else) came into being or what it means to be a "parent".  Most of them do not even walk to school alone - if they even do work. Parents put them in "OSH care" (out of school hours) or send them to sport, drama, dance and more in an effort not to keep them occupied but because they want them to keep up the same level of supposedly desirable activities as their peers. The books they read are, for the most part, written by adults and chosen by them.  Children cannot vote and must attend school or be otherwise "educated". They cannot hitchhike around the world alone. In this country they will shortly not be able to access "social media" because they are considered to be "too young".

There are a great many things children cannot legally do. We see most of these things as sensible precautions because they are deemed to be "too immature". So why do they think it is okay to inject chemicals in to a child as young as ten to prevent puberty? 

Before you start telling me I am "anti-transgender" people or that "children know who they are at that age" or "this is the best time to start doing it" let me say this. I firmly believe there are people who genuinely believe they are "the wrong sex" and who are more comfortable "the other way".  I also believe that there are very, very few of these people and that they deserve all the support and understanding we can give them. Life must be very difficult for them and I get upset when they do not get the support and understanding they need and have every right to get. 

I do not believe there are large numbers of ten year old children, children who are deemed not mature enough to go to and from school independently, who are able to say, "I want to be "A" rather than "B" and I want to be that way for the rest of my life. I want to take drugs to stop nature taking its intended course." Ask these children what they think they would like to do as a job or career and they often have no clear idea. Three years ago at age ten a young friend of mine wanted to design wedding dresses and have her own shop. Now she is thirteen she wants to be a librarian but acknowledges she might change her mind about that too. 

Puberty blockers do not "save lives". Children can be asked to wait in the way they have to wait for other "adult" things. What will save lives, and save some from irreparable damage, is love and understanding and acceptance and patience and a range of other things. Yes, it might seem easier to prevent puberty but perhaps it is time to talk long and hard with people who are "detransitioning". What has gone wrong? Why did they feel that way earlier on? What can we learn from them?

I know my views will upset some people but I find it hard to believe that the current epidemic of demands for "transitioning" is really a reflection of the numbers who genuinely need it.