Parents Of Transgender Children Share Their Stories

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Caitlyn Jenner made headlines when she transitioned into a woman. Now, some families are speaking out about the challenge of having transgender children.

"He would scream, like we were hurting him when we tried to put a dress on him," said Grace, a mother.

That was when Eli was a "she," an 18-month-old baby girl already rejecting anything female.

"Oh, I remember that," Eli said. "That was like torture."

Now is Eli is 11 years old -- a happy, active boy who never doubted he was born the wrong sex.

"I'd say I pretty much knew my whole life," Eli said.

It was a secret he kept until he was 8 years old.

"It was kind of hard 'cause I hadn't really told anyone ever," he said.

"He said, 'I have a secret, and the secret is I'm a boy," Grace said. " ... I thought, 'I don't know what we're going to do, but we're going to figure it out.'"

It was a less clear path for Ryan, now a 21-year-old man. He, too, was born female, but never felt like one.

"It was very confusing," he said. "I was very depressed."

He didn't understand his feelings until he learned about what it meant to be transgender by searching the Internet.

"It was a relief to know what exactly I was or am," he said.

Ryan's mother said at first it was hard to accept.

"It's a scary thing, I think, to think about," she said.

But then she came around.

"I was so excited for my son to be able to become the person he needed to be," she said.

Experts say that kind of family support is crucial. Without it, many transgender kids suffer from anxiety, depression and high rates of suicide.

"We see a lot of kids with a lot of mental health concerns, and we also see that those mental health concerns really alleviate when the family is on board," said Jean Malpas of Ackerman Institute for the Family."

Said Grace: "It sort of went from a situation that felt really confusing and difficult to one that we really celebrate him now. We feel so lucky to have him."

Experts advise waiting until the age of 18 before transitioning. Many children and younger teens who question their gender do ultimately not change genders.