Jazz Jennings' Mom Recalls 'Putting Out Fires' and Encouraging Her Daughter to 'Be You' Since Pre-K
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Jazz Jennings can always count on her mom.
In PEOPLE's exclusive sneak peek at Tuesday's episode of I Am Jazz, Jazz's mother Jeanette opens up about taking a stand for her daughter from a young age and becoming an advocate for the transgender community.
"There's going to be a board meeting today to decide whether gender affirming care will be allowed in the state of Florida," Jeanette shares. "And they need someone to speak on behalf of the kids and support hormone blockers and I'm that person."
Kristina Bumphrey/StarPix/Shutterstock
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Jeanette then gets emotional about advocating for Jazz, now 22, when she was a child.
"With Jazz, when she was little or, you know, a minor, I was always putting out fires before she got burned," she recalls. "I walked her into pre-school, everybody was whispering and pointing fingers and just looking down upon us."
She continues, "I held my hand high and held my child's hand and I said, 'We're going to go in there and don't care what the other kids think and it doesn't matter what the parents think. You're special. You're unique. You're you and I'm so proud of you and I'm so proud to be your mom,' and I'm saying this to a 4-year-old."
She explains, "I had to say this to her because she was upset that the other kids were making fun of her for acting girly and I had to tell her, 'It's OK, you be you. You do you and we're here for you. We love you no matter what.'"
TLC
Jazz's father Greg also shows his support for his wife and daughter, sharing, "Jeanette is a big advocate and, you know, we're proud of her for doing that. I can't always be where she is but I'm there in spirit. I think that's true for the whole family. Whenever any one of us are, whether we're together or one of us is there, we're all on the same page fighting for the same cause."
RELATED: Jazz Jennings Recounts Being Barred from Soccer as a Child Amid New Bills Targeting Trans Kids
The clip also shows Jeanette at the TransAction | Equality Florida rally, where she tells the crowd about how she supported Jazz in receiving gender-affirming care.
"We were told my medical professionals that 40 to 50 percent of kids like Jazz would attempt suicide without their gender-affirming care," she says. "Jazz herself has told us if she was forced to go through male puberty, she would have taken her life. As a young child, she would have nightmares about having facial hair."
"After extensive guidance from medical professionals, we promised we'd do everything in our power to ensure that Jazz would be able to live as a girl," she adds. "And she's fulfilling her dreams of changing the world on her own terms, as a student at Harvard University. I love you, baby."
TLC
In a confessional, Jazz shares that she is grateful for her mother's support.
"I would not be the person I am today if it weren't for my mom," she says. "She spreads so much unconditional love to everyone, and it's not just her family — like, she is an advocate, a major force for the community. I am beyond blessed to have my mom, and I'm just so, so proud of her."
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I Am Jazz airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET on TLC.
