Dysphoria isn’t this obvious neon sign that appears from the minute you exit the womb, especially in a society that does everything it can to make transgender people totally invisible to begin with.

Rather, what’s “rapid” about ROGD is parents’ sudden awareness and assessment of their child’s gender dysphoria (which, from the child’s standpoint, may be longstanding and thoughtfully considered). 

1. Don’t essentialize gender.
2. Don’t gender personal characteristics and attributes.
3. Don’t gender toys and careers.
4. Do teach diverse history.
5. Do encourage identity exploration.

A large study of transgender adolescents from the Netherlands found that only 1.9 percent of those who hit puberty and start puberty blockers decide to stop treatment like Alex did.
There is more debate around how likely prepubescent children are to later not identify as transgender. For this reason, they are not offered hormone therapies. They also, by definition, have not yet started puberty, and thus there is no puberty to block and no need for hormone therapy.

The idea that you can "talk someone into" a sexuality or a gender is palpably nonsense. That doesn’t stop fearmongering about the abilities of society to "persuade" children that they are transgender, however. 

 I want children to be able to play with whatever toys they like without shame and not be pressurised by adults into thinking of themselves in any particular way. Most children who don’t conform to gender stereotypes are not transgender – there has to be intense persistent identification as a different gender for a child to potentially be transgender. 

A parent's greatest fear is that they'll make a choice that hurts their kid, says Sara Kaplan, the mom of two transgender children. It was that fear that made her realise that supporting her kids in their transitions was the only choice. [...] Odds of a transgender person attempting suicide or abusing drugs and alcohol are significantly reduced (almost on level with non-transgender people) when they have their families' support.