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Monday 7 December 2015

Mother Brings Up Her Three-Year-old Son As A Girl In Britain's Youngest Case Of A Child Wanting To Change Sex

Kerry McFadyen's daughter is Britain's youngest case of gender dysphoria
Seeing their toddler playing with scissors can be a terrifying sight for any parent but for Kerry McFadyen it was a moment that changed everything. The 32-year-old came across the scene in the bathroom of her home in Strathspey, Scotland, when three-year-old son Daniel (pictured left) said he wanted to cut off his penis so he could be a girl. It led to his parents making the difficult decision to allow Daniel to become Danni (pictured right, and inset with her family), in what is believed to be the UK's youngest case of a child wanting to change sex.

Pictured: Mrs McFadyen, 32, and her husband Craig McFadyen, 35, with their children (l-r) Ayden, 10, Charlie, three, Danni, six, Amy-Leigh, 13, and Dylan, eight, at their home in Strathspey in the Scottish Highlands
Mrs McFadyen said he was stunned by what she calls 'the bathroom incident' but that she could not stand to see her child unhappy.
She said: 'He was in the bath. And somehow he'd managed to find a pair of scissors. When I turned around he was holding them above his bits.
'I tried to be calm and asked him what he was doing, and he told me he was about to cut off his willy so he could be a girl.
'I told him he couldn't because he'd hurt himself and bleed a lot and I calmly took them from him and gave him a big hug.
'It was very upsetting to see him like that, no mum should have to see their child so upset in their own skin.' 
Danni likes playing with Barbie dolls and Peppa Pig toys and was never interested in football 

Mrs McFadyen and her husband Craig, 34, approached the family GP in Inverness for advice and were sent to the Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust in Leeds, where Daniel was diagnosed with gender dysphoria.
The condition is known as gender dysphoria and happens when a child or adult is distressed or uncomfortable because their sex does not match their gender identity. Danni tells other children she has a girl's head and a boy's body.
Mrs McFadyen said it was a relief to get a diagnosis and the family was told it would help to let Daniel live as a girl, so long as he knew he could change his mind.
She added: 'We were worried he would be bullied at school. But in the end we agreed to let Daniel be who he wanted to be. Our fears weren't enough to stop him being a girl, if that's what he wanted.'
Now Mrs McFadyen wants to raise awareness of the condition by telling Danni's story to help other parents who may be struggling with a similar situation, and has set up a Facebook page - My Transgender Child - to encourage parents to share their experiences.
She said she was 'lost and helpless' when the issue arose but with the right support any family can get through it and help their child. 

The six-year-old will be allowed to choose whether to have further treatment or surgery when she is 16

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