My 11-year-old daughter came to me and told me that she thinks she has feelings for another girl. She explained it as she has the same feelings for this girl that she has had for a boy all school year. By feelings she explained that she gets kind of nervous, happy, and her body just feels funny when she is around the girl and also the boy she likes. This girl is also one of her best friends. All 3 of them are in the same class at school and all 3 sit at the same table together. She is very confused as am I. I have tried to explain to her that her body is going through all kinds of changes because of puberty, she is getting older and growing up.
She told me that she has talked to her other two best friends at school about this. And one of the friends told her that she has felt that way about another girl also but she just told herself didn't really feel that way or couldn't feel that way because she also liked a boy. Do you think the conversation with her friends confused her also?
I don't know what to say or do or how to help her. I just want her to continue to feel comfortable enough to talk to me. What do I say or not say to help her? How can I help her understanding her own feelings when she doesn't understand them herself? I don't want to make her uncomfortable.
She is very open with me and her father. She has always been very open with her questions about boys, problems that she's having, and questions about her body. She has asked me to tell her Daddy about all of this because she wants to be honest with him but she is afraid that he will see her differently. How do I explain this to my husband when I do not understand all of it myself?
I need advice on how to process this myself and how to help her when she can't make sense of what is going on with her body?