She hated wearing dresses and often wanted her hair cut short. Kiah became so unhappy that Rachel, 39, made the controversial decision to let her transition aged nine.
She now lives as a boy called Kai and has been taking hormone blockers to stop puberty.
Rachel - who runs a health business and lives in Brighton with Kai, now 11 - explains: “Some people might say Kai was too young to transition.
"But his desire to live as a boy was so strong I didn’t feel there was any other option.
“He cut his hair short himself when he was five and hated wearing dresses.
“Staying living as a girl would have been horrific for Kai and now he’s so much happier.
“The hormone blockers stop him having periods and prevented his breasts from growing further, which would have been traumatic.
"If he decides to have gender reassignment surgery when he’s older I’ll support him.”
Read the rest of this story in Closer mag, out today.