Unique circumstances spark conversation for 6-year-old student

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Children's Lighthouse Learning Center in Katy

A 6-year-old transgender student at a Katy daycare has sparked quite a discussion about how the school should address the issue with the child's classmates. Two employees who disagreed with the way the private school owners was handling the situation were fired.

But some are now discussing if a child at that age can actually know if they are transgender.

“I think there’s a strong indication that a lot of this is biological,” child psychologist Dr. Andrew Brams tells Fox-26.

Brams say gender dysphoria is the clinical name for it, with genetic science to back it up.  He says there’s evidence in chromosomes that make that can make the individuals feel very different, even at that young age.

“It is possible that they will have some type of awareness that the gender that they are currently in just doesn't fit for them,” Brams says.

“At the time I was six, I began to exhibit all female personality traits,” Nikki Araguz Lloyd tells FOX 26.

Lloyd may be the most well-known transgender citizen of Houston.  She founded the Transgender National Alliance to advocate and educate on behalf of the transgender community.

“It's very sad that what has become a personal private matter in relation to a transgender person, is now again a very public discussion,” Lloyd says.

It’s also thrown the Children's Lighthouse in Katy into the spotlight. The parents requested that the school not to call their child a girl any longer.  They asked that the child now be treated like a boy, and be referred to with a boy’s name. As the schools owner went about implementing the parents’ wishes, 2 employees expressed concern, and were fired.

Lloyd says the employees should have trusted the owner’s judgment.

“Clearly the daycare owner in this situation felt that this child's parents were advocating on his behalf appropriately.”

One added element of the story is that the child's parents are both men.  FOX 26 has spoken with the couple. They did not want to discuss their situation, and we are not  revealing their identity.

But it has made some people wonder if a gay couple influenced a child to be transgender. Dr. Brams  feels that’s unlikely.

“I understand the fears that they have,” said Brams, “But I want to tell you, in my clinical experience working with same sex partners, because I do a lot of work with foster-hood and adoption, I think these families are very well adjusted. I think they are even sometimes more psychologically mindful, or even more aware of, making sure their child is brought up in a healthy environment, with good self-esteem and a good feeling about themselves.”

Further, Lloyd says one has nothing to do with the other.

“Being transgender is not a sexual issue, it's a gender issue,” Lloyd says. “I think people often confuse it with sexuality.”

So, as for who should explain transgenderism to the young classmates, Lloyd believes the school should be capable of doing so.  The topic does not have to involve the talk about the birds and the bees.