Affirmations for YOU as you Step Into Bravery - Home for the Holidays 2025

YOU ARE ENOUGH

Remember, it’s really normal and expected that there will be hard moments between you and your youth, especially over the holidays when emotions are already running high! In your job as a parent, caregiver, or supportive adult, you need to make mistakes. Being “strongly supportive” is not about getting it right every time. It’s about having self-compassion, and a process for what to do when harm or conflict inevitably happen.  Young people crave relationship clarity and self-awareness, and suffer from inconsistency and “fake” or “mixed” messages. Rather than shooting for perfection, trust that the holidays will likely include some hard moments, and that you have the skills to navigate wisely through that hardness, together. 

YOU CAN HANDLE DISCOMFORT

Conversations about your youth’s gender may require you to experience a kind of “second hand” transphobia, as you run interference between your youth and potential harmful comments and actions from family members. This will likely not feel good. It will likely be uncomfortable. However, our ability to withstand that discomfort communicates to our youth that we are willing to step into their shoes temporarily, and shoulder a sliver of the discrimination they may be feeling every day. 

YOU KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING

You don’t have to know everything about gender, or everything about your family, to do the work of building a stronger relationship with your youth, and between you youth and the world around them. Keep this goal (a stronger relationship) in mind when considering how you want to navigate the holidays. 

YOUR LOVE IS POWERFUL

Strong adult support continues to be the most significant contributor to positive health and mental health outcomes for trans youth. Don’t forget how powerful you are! 

Looking for more tools for the holidays? Check out strategies can also help with common, but challenging conversations that can come up over holidays - like tips, planning, and thinking through possible responses.