Newsround Blog has previously advised parents of gender nonconforming kids to avoid having anything to do with a trans activist group called Mermaids.

Yesterday trans activist, Carol Steele, inadvertently proved my point in a post to an LGBT internet forum:

No reputable clinic either in the US or Thailand (or anywhere else that I am aware of) supports surgical intervention under the age of 18.

Would Mermaids recommend any disreputable clinics/hospitals - absolutely NOT.

In fact, the person in charge of Mermaids sent her own child to Thailand in order to get round laws that protect children in the United Kingdom.