Tips for Supporting Your Child on Gender-Affirming Voice Goals

A common question I get from parents and caregivers of trans youth is,

“How can I support my kid in gender-affirming voice training?”

In my experience working with trans, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming youth, some kids like to incorporate their families into their practice routine and others like working on their own.

I recommend practicing voice skills through play-based games that require a lot of speaking. This makes practice fun and helps to generalize the new voice into conversation. Here are some of my favorites:

Scattegories

There are a ton of different versions of Scattegories online. My go to is the Scattegories list generator from Swellgarfo. You’ll have two minutes to think of words that start with the same letter from 12 random categories.

Example Letter: D

Categories:

Flower: daisy

Animal: dog

Things you do every day: drive

Author: Dr. Seuss

Thing to do for fun: draw

Celebrity: Drew Barrymore

Vacation Spot: Dominican Republic

Personality trait: driven

Country: Denmark

Something found in ocean: dolphin

Furniture item: dresser

Something green: dragon

Taboo

Another game that promotes conversation is taboo which also has an online option. To play, one person communicates a concept or word to their partner without using a specific list of related words. For example, you must make your partner say “apple”, but can’t use the words “red,” “fruit,” “pie,” “cupcake,” “cider,” or “core”.

If your child seems comfortable applying their new voice skills during game night, the next step I recommend is to create small speaking opportunities for them. This could look like the following:

• Ordering food at a restaurant

• Calling to schedule an appointment

• Greeting the host at a restaurant

• Practicing a school presentation

Always check-in with your child to make sure they feel safe and comfortable with the suggested tasks. You can also have an open conversation with them about giving them feedback. I recommend asking your kid if they want your input/suggestions on their voice progress or if they prefer that you keep your comments to yourself.

It's all about communication :)

Thank you for reading this and supporting your child as they find their authentic voice.