Most parents have probably had the question flicker across their minds at one time or another: "Could my child be gay?"

Even if you've had no reason to wonder, it's possible that your all-boy football player or pretty sparkly princess ballerina may come out to you one day. And if they do, there's a right way to handle it and a wrong way.

Laura, one of the two moms profiled in Mya and Her Moms experienced both when she came out as a senior in high school, as she explains in the video below. She hadn't intended to do so -- she had a boyfriend she loved, although platonically, and just never thought being gay and out was an option for her despite the fact that she had always known she was.

Then came the phone conversation between her and another girl. Laura's mom overheard her telling her girlfriend she loved her, and confronted her daughter.

When Laura acknowledged she was, in fact, a lesbian, her mother kicked her out of the house. Although she and her mom have since reconciled, Laura says that was one of the biggest hurts she'd ever experienced in her life. "I was going to run away, or kill myself," she says.

Lucky for Laura, her grandmother lived nearby and Laura walked over to her house after her mother threw her out. Laura told her the whole story, and her grandmother responded that while she didn't understand it and the whole thing was not for her, she loved Laura and that would not change.

That sweet and simple "I love you" changed everything for Laura, and she has gone on to become a teacher, fall in love with her partner Lisa, and become a mom to Mya.

Suicide among gay kids is a huge problem, and if more moms responded like Laura's grandmother did instead of her mom, it might just make the world one tiny bit better. See the video below for Laura's touching story.

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What would you say if your child came out to you?

 

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