Pro Parenting Tip: Believe Them

My teen daughter and I watched the 2023 Tony Awards together – all 5 hours of it.

Personally, I was more of an Academy Award buff growing up, but raising a theater kid has changed me. In fact, in the past few years I’ve gone to the theater to see far more live shows than movies.

The shows are phenomenal but seeing my daughter light up with joy… well, I don’t even have the words to describe that.

One thing I love about the theater community is how accepting and open it is.

The 2023 Tony’s exemplified that. The winners represented all shapes, sizes, races, religions, sexualities, and genders. All were celebrated with equal enthusiasm and respect. It was beautiful.

Another trend I noticed was winners thanking their parents for believing in them, accepting them for who they were, and supporting their crazy dreams.

Brandon Uranowitz’s acceptance speech for Featured Actor in a Play was my personal favorite. He ended with this powerful plea to parents…

“When your child tells you who they are, believe them" because “an authentic life is a limitless life.”

Yes!

This is a message I try to convey to parents all the time, but not nearly as eloquently as he did. I could belabor the point (for days), but nothing I say would improve upon his words. So, I’m just going to repeat them:

“When your child tells you who they are, believe them!"