I will preface this by saying that six years old is not an appropriate age to undergo any sort of transition, and to say that it is is beginning the conversation in bad faith, so to start, what is the actual average age of those undergoing gender affirming care? Why use an example that is clearly outside of the threshold that is the norm?

I'm not an expert, but thinking about it rationally, sure we have a few ways to start to know. Is it possible for a person to be aware that early? Idk, but I suppose I'd try to start answering that question by listening to :

1. Trans children who are now adults and can recall their experiences.

2. Researchers and child development experts who specialize in child development, gender disphoria, and work with such children.

Both groups that are either ignored or not permitted to speak, by conservatives.

Why do they spend their legislative time blocking science? Banning books? Forbidding phrases?

Because they have no intention of listening to evidence. They wanted to suppress in every era of history and nothing has changed. They're still sore about being wrong about gays not all being demented perverts (and the wider public finally realizing this truth.) Which was the death of their efforts to paint them as pedophiles.

What is infuriating is that the playbook hasn't even changed, every group they didn't like : immigrants, blacks, gays, jews, all the same types of claims : "They'll take your job/property/wife/children/way-of-life, blah blah. Be afraid! Vote for candidate fear!"

In short, whether or not a child of any age can know is something they don't want to know. Knowing and facing the information could undermine their preconceived notions of what transgender means as a concept. So, whether or not a child can know is information that must be suppressed. Otherwise they may lose some portion of the public that still believes all transgender people are demented child molesters.

..which as an idea that is easy to disapprove or verify. If there was proof it would have been presented, but it doesn't exist which is why the claims are nebulous and emotional, conservative claims tend to be nebulous and emotional because the people who follow them don't understand thresholds for evidence and rationally following the scientific process. More democrats do, because this method of thought is part of university curriculums. How to root-cause a problem and see past bullshit, this is a core part of solving large, complex problems, and also allows you to see how transparent those conservatives' emotional calls to action actually are.

So, sure. We know some, and we could know more. But my question to you, do you believe that conservatives are in good-faith exploring this question and intending to change their behaviors based on the outcome? Or, are they doing something else? Observe them and think about it.

Does a conservative, in good faith, want to know if a child if that age can be gender disphoric? What would they realistically do if this was proven to them? Change their stance? Like they did on.. climate change, election outcomes, gay people, black people...? Given above examples we know clearly what they would do. Suppress, deny, deflect.

But, you can still want to know. Pursue this question and do your best to answer it, ignoring people who don't have expertise in children and child development, and ask what the views of respected scientific institutions are on this matter.

Your opinion matters, it's the only thing that ever has, or in short, you're asking the right questions, just be sure to go to good faith experts, and not bad faith politicians, for the answers.

A lot of text to say, "I don't know, but I know conservatives don't want to know, and I know where to start in order to get a good faith, non-emotional answer. Hopefully you do too."

I'd always downvote him bc he's a conservative troll who just spouts anti-trans bs in general. Unfortunately his name is very recognizable on Lemmy.