Parents let 6-year-old, born a girl, live as a boy

A video made by parents in California - explaining why they let their 6-year-old, born a girl, live as a boy - has gone viral.

That video, posted to YouTube, has had more than 3.5 million views.

In It, Jeff and Hillary Whittington share the journey of little Ryland.

They say Ryland insisted she was a boy from the minute she could speak.

In the video, Ryland is heard to say "My name is Ryland Michael Whittington I am a transgender kid, I am six, I am a cool kid. I am the happiest I have ever been in my whole life, thank you to my parents."

At first they thought it was a 'tomboy' phase, but it never passed.

So, they made the controversial decision, they say, for Ryland's happiness and his health.

"One thing we know is that transgender children and teens are at much higher risk for suicide - ten times the general population," said ABC News chief medical correspondent Dr. Richard Besser. "I think a lot of that has to do with acceptance, and the delay in recognizing who they are and allowing them to live as who they are."

While criticism has been pouring in, the Whittingtons say, relative to the horrific things people have to endure with their children all over the world, this is nothing.

They added, they signed up as parents with no strings attached.