In this debut episode of the Parent Whisperer podcast, host Richard R. Ramos opens with a dramatic reading from Dr. Miriam Grossman’s book Lost in Trans Nation: A Child Psychiatrist’s Guide Out of the Madness. Ramos frames transgender‑related issues as a cultural and ideological “war” driven by the internet, media, schools, and a medical‑government establishment, describing the phenomenon as “evil” and a “cult‑like crusade.” He then shifts to a calmer, instructional tone, defining gender dysphoria as clinical distress when a child’s internal sense of gender does not align with the sex they were assigned at birth. Ramos clarifies that dysphoria is distinct from normal gender‑expression exploration and that its causes are largely unknown, rejecting simplistic attributions to parenting or media exposure. The core of the episode is a three‑step parental guidance framework: (1) stay calm and avoid panic, (2) stay connected by listening and reflecting the child’s feelings, and (3) get educated by consulting multiple perspectives and reputable sources. Throughout, he emphasizes the importance of parental emotional stability as the foundation for supporting children, while acknowledging that parents may feel fear or uncertainty. The episode concludes with a preview of future topics—why many children are questioning identity, how to navigate cultural noise, and strategies for building long‑term resilience—along with standard podcast calls to action (subscribe, review, prize draw).
If you're a parent looking for sound, solid advice on how to raise your child in an ever-increasing dangerous world, then this podcast is for you. So here's your host, Richard Ramos.
This book is not about those extraordinary rare people. who have been written about for almost 100 years. This book is about the kids whose new identities are the result of a hysteria fueled by the internet, social media, Hollywood, and the gender medical and government establishment that mushroomed out of the ideology I discovered in sex education 15 years ago. For me, This is a black and white issue. Most things in life are nuanced, but this is not one of them. This is— and here's a word you don't expect from a doctor— evil. It's evil to indoctrinate children and young adults with falsehoods and to drive a wedge between them and their loving parents. It's evil to encourage them on a path that leads to harm, and it's evil to describe it all as a journey of authenticity and to entice children with glitter and rainbows. We are a nation lost in trans madness. The price we are paying is staggering. This is a guide out of the madness. If you're a parent, you needed it yesterday because the crusaders are at your door. They've already conquered Disney and Target, your kids' school, camp, and pediatrician. I wrote this book to arm you for battle against the blitz of transgenderism. Because no family is immune. Yes, battle and blitz. I use military terms intentionally. The trans issue is not a debate with reasonable and moral people on both sides. It's a war. It's a destructive cult-like crusade that targets your children 24/7. There's hardly a place that's free from indoctrination, slogans, flags, and emojis. You must gird yourself with knowledge, confidence, and support and oppose the onslaught as much as possible. Wake up, parents! Hello everybody, I'm Richard Ramos and welcome to the Parent Whisperer podcast. What you just heard me read is from the book Lost in Trans Nation A Child Psychiatrist's Guide Out of the Madness by Dr. Miriam Grossman. So what we're talking about today is, if not the most important topic for parents today, it is one of the most important issues of our time, I believe. And what I intend to do is take a calm, thoughtful, walk into this topic a lot of parents are dealing with and wondering about. Sometimes they're wondering and whispering, sometimes they're wondering in a panic, and sometimes it's just with that look that says, you know what, I need help. So raising kids in an identity-confusing world and what parents need to know about gender dysphoria, Or the more popular term, transgenderism. So that's what I hope to bring to light today and over the next few episodes, because this is a huge topic. And we're not only talking about teens, which is usually the age of concern. This is about elementary school children and the effect it will have on future generations. So there's a lot of political and educational influence here, and I just hope to break it down in a way that is honest, that's accurate, and that makes sense, and to offer some practical, real-world guidance. So today we're going to look at what is gender dysphoria or transgenderism. Then we're going to talk about later on in other episodes why so many kids are questioning identity today and trying to understand all the cultural noise out there. In another episode, responding without panicking, parent guidance for conversations, boundaries, and staying connected. And then finally, let's look at the long-term vision and how we can help kids build identity and resilience and self-leadership in dealing with all, as I mentioned, all the noise that is out there. So first, what is gender dysphoria? And trying to understand the experience without fear or judgment, because it does cause parents a lot of fear when they start hearing about this issue with their children. So gender dysphoria is simply a clinical term for the distress— that's the key to this— the distress a person feels with their internal sense of gender, or when their internal sense of gender doesn't match the sex that they were born in. Now, here's a controversy right here. A lot of it is today is said this, the sex they were assigned at birth. But I'm not going to say that because I don't believe we are assigned a sex at birth. You're either a boy or a girl. That's what I believe. But the problem is when a young child is born a girl and they are distressed about that, they don't feel that they are a girl. They feel like they're a boy in a girl's body and vice versa. So that's the key to this. It's a distress that they're feeling, which can be a real thing for some children, a very, very small percentage of children. But I just want to acknowledge that it does happen. And it's not really about identity. It's not a trend. It's not sin. You know, We can think of that in religious terms. It's not rebellion. It's emotional discomfort. It's distress. It's a mental strain, internal conflict that an individual is feeling about their gender. So that's my best— when I looked up, you know, this term and the definitions given, it's just really about the distress a child is feeling. That's the key to understanding it. Now, how does this show up? Well, for some kids, they just have discomfort with their body, or they're very anxious, or maybe even depressed about their puberty when that starts happening. Maybe they start avoiding certain activities or certain bathrooms. Maybe they express to you, Mom or Dad, hey, I just don't feel like myself. I'm uncomfortable with myself, and things like that. So, this isn't about a kid wanting to just, you know, cut their hair short one week and grow it out the next because that's just being a teenager. Gender dysphoria is deeper than that. It's ongoing, and it emotionally weighs heavily on the child. But let me just make something very clear here. For parents that are worried about their children, if a child is exploring their gender expression, that doesn't mean that they automatically— that they have gender dysphoria. I think a lot of children kind of explore, you know, those kinds of things, trying on different words or different styles or, you know, just out of curiosity. That's nothing to panic about. Because dysphoria specifically refers to the distress part. So just, you know, let's not overreact if our kids are, you know, boys are playing with dolls or girls are wanting to, you know, play with boy sports. You know, those are just kids being kids. It's really about that emotional heaviness. And that's a different thing. Now, what causes it? What causes dysphoria? The honest truth is nobody really knows. We just don't know. That's the honest answer. There could be what are called biopsychological factors, personality differences, culture, language, peer pressure. I mean, there's so many Different variables. There is no definition, you know, that fits everybody. And what causes it, we just simply don't know. But what it is not caused by is bad parenting, or that parent, you missed something, or some conversation that your child had with somebody, or watching some show on Netflix. Those things do not cause this, anything like that. But the fact is that kids are growing up in a culture where identity is a big conversation, and they're reaching for language long before they really understand the full story. And as I read at the beginning from the book Lost in Translation: A Child Psychiatrist's Guide Out of the Madness, Here, Dr. Miriam Grossman in her book, and I highly recommend that you read it amongst other books that are out there that you could read, but she is really warning parents about what is being taught our children, that they are being indoctrinated in school and obviously through social media and so many other ways that she, you know, delves into. And she talks in her book about case histories, people she's worked with, children, their parents. And it is an eye-opening, somewhat alarming story that she tells in the book. So, but why this subject is so important and it matters so much for parents is that kids need emotional stability, especially from us. They don't need us to overreact, get crazy, you know, start You know, getting extreme. What they need from us is for us to have that emotional stability, and for us to show them that we are willing to talk about it. You know, in a calm way, and that this kind of if there's some identity exploration, it doesn't need, and it shouldn't automatically lead to medical. Transitions, which happens a lot. And we can— we'll talk a little bit more about that later. But the role of the mom and dad, our role, is to just be that steady presence, building that relationship, keeping that attachment secure, and to be curious more than fearful. So what we can do if this is something that we're Dealing with. If you're listening to this podcast and you're dealing with this, and you've probably already read some books or you've talked to some other people, and I'm just wanting to add some, some hope and guidance here that 3 basic things we can do is to stay calm. Number one, we don't need to panic. Our children don't need to see that. They need our presence, not panic. And we don't have to have all the answers right away. That's just impossible. Nobody has all the answers to these kinds of things. So staying calm is important. And secondly, stay connected. You know, ask the questions, just listen, repeat back to our kids what they're saying when we ask them certain questions about how they're feeling and why they're feeling that way and when they feel that way. And it doesn't mean that I'm going to necessarily agree with everything that they may be saying, But it's not about agreeing. It's about them feeling heard and understood. And that we want to maintain and even strengthen our connection with our kids in dealing with an important issue like this. And then finally, get educated as much as possible. Stay curious. Find out. Don't just read one side of the issue. Read both sides. Read the different— Perspectives. Books and things that are coming out. I bought some of those books and I'll share with you my take on those books that I've read and some of the exercises that are going on in school with your children that you may or may not be aware of. So it's not that we want to be suspicious or dismissive, but we certainly want to be educated and curious. And, you know, Give our children an opportunity to help us understand what's going on with them, and we don't want to be dismissing you know how they're feeling. We don't want to rush to any solutions, as I already said. We don't want to make the issue about me, about us. It's about them. So gender dysphoria does not automatically mean your child would transition. And exploration does not automatically lead to permanent decisions. I want that to be clear. A lot of young people experience this kind of distress for a season. They work through it and they get the support, and then they come out with a clearer sense of who they are. And that's really what we want, for our children to discover and be self-aware of who they really are. So, the key to their stability is going to be our emotional stability. And it doesn't mean we're going to be perfect all the time. We might, you know, have a little panic. You know, we might get a little fearful. So, we're not going to be perfect. And we, you know, may not always, you know, have the proper response. But the key is the best thing we can do for our children Through this time is to be present in their life. And, you know, sometimes I know that raising kids today, as we've talked about in many of these episodes, can feel like you're, you know, trying to defuse a bomb while, you know, wondering where, what wires go where, and, you know, trying to figure out the red wire, the blue wire, the yellow wire. I mean, you know, and we're trying to defuse this bomb. But I want to encourage you that you can handle this. You got this. If you're dealing with this, you're not alone. I want to do my best, as others have written books and have other podcasts and other places you can go to get support. And that is all that I want to do is provide support and education and some things to think about, because this is a very important issue. So let me say that if this episode has raised questions for you, or if you know somebody that's going through these things and they're looking for help about this gender identity issue, transgenderism, dysphoria, share this episode with them and let them know that over the next few episodes we're going to be talking about the different aspects of this issue. And I just want to cheer you on. I'm here for you, helping you to stay calm and stay present in the life of your child. So, in the next episode, we're going to look at why so many kids are questioning identity today and trying to understand all the cultural noise that is out there. I'm Richard Ramos. You've been listening to the Parent Whisperer Podcast. Subscribe, leave a review, ask questions, and always remember what I leave you with. Parents on a Mission is not for bad parents. It is for good parents who want to get better. See you next time.
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