Research Is Proving Transitioning Improves the Quality Of Life

More and more studies are proving transitioning proves beneficial to trans children.

Study examines families' journeys to accepting transgender children
Phys.org
August 23, 2016

Jessica was one of 36 parents (29 mothers and seven fathers) who participated in a University of California-Davis, study, which will be presented at the 111th Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association (ASA), on how they came to make room in their families for notions of gender that go beyond conventional concepts of male and female.

Through in-depth interviews, Krysti Ryan, a PhD candidate in sociology, found many similarities in the journeys of parents who are supportively raising children who are "gender diverse," identifying as transgender, agender (no gender), bigender (both genders), gender-fluid (boy on some days and girl on others), or gender-nonconforming (expressing preferences that persistently diverge from the expectations of their gender).
[…]
Most of the parents in the study, the majority of whom self-identified as liberals or progressives, said they initially presumed their transgender daughters were sons who were going through a phase. "Nearly all parents I spoke with initially interpreted their child's gender expression as an indicator of future sexuality, not gender difference," Ryan said.

Over time, however, mothers like Jessica who warned her transgender daughter not to dress as a girl in school, realize their children are unhappy with these restrictions. As their children showed signs of depression or other emotional distress, the mothers in the study reached a tipping point in accepting their children's gender diversity.

Once the parents got over their initial doubts they became strong advocates for their children.

Many of the mothers in the study became lay experts on gender diversity—throwing themselves into reading everything they could find on the topic and identifying resources for their children—as a way of responding to social perceptions that they failed to raise a "normal" child.

The article did say that most of the parents identified as liberals or progressives and I hate to think about trans children growing up in families that deny them their gender identity.