Wondering if your child is transgender? Here are some tips

In this Tuesday, July 11, 2017 photo, campers Gracie, left, leans toward Nugget during an activity at the Bay Area Rainbow Day Camp in El Cerrito, Calif. The camp caters to transgender and "gender fluid" children, aged 4-12, making it one of the only camps of its kind in the world open to preschoolers, experts say. Nugget's name tag also includes preferred pronouns. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu) In this Tuesday, July 11, 2017 photo, campers Gracie, left, leans toward Nugget during an activity at the Bay Area Rainbow Day Camp in El Cerrito, Calif. The camp caters to transgender and "gender fluid" children, aged 4-12, making it one of the only camps of its kind in the world open to preschoolers, experts say. Nugget's name tag also includes preferred pronouns. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

By Associated Press August 7, 2017 4 min read

EL CERRITO, Calif. (AP) – How can a parent know if their child is transgender? What separates a young boy who might be transgender from one with a vivid imagination who likes to dress up in his sister’s dresses? What do you do if your daughter tells you she’s a boy?

The Associated Press spoke to gender experts to answer some of parents’ most commonly asked questions.

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MY SON LIKES TO WEAR DRESSES. IS THIS A PHASE OR SOMETHING MORE?

“My answer is, we don’t know,” says Diane Ehrensaft, a developmental and clinical psychologist, director of mental health at the University of California, San Francisco’s Child and Adolescent Gender Center and author of “The Gender Creative Child.”