text: The parents of a five-year-old transgender boy are sharing their son’s story with the world in a bid to prove that there is no such thing as being ‘too young’ to identify as transgender. Massachusetts couple Mimi and Joe Lemay's son Jacob wasn't always a boy. The five-year-old was born Mia, the second of three sisters. But from a very early age, Jacob began rejecting his gender. And after years of questioning how to handle his preferences, before finally coming to terms with what their son wanted, the Lemays explained to NBC News that they decided to let their child assume the identity of a boy. Scroll down for video. Boys will be boys: Mimi and Joe Lemay's five-year-old son Jacob was born a girl named Mia, but the couple has now accepted that their child is a boy . Mimi and Joe began to notice that Jacob was having difficulties when he was a toddler. Then named Mia, he would insist on changing his clothes 10 to 12 times a day, in an attempt to find something he felt comfortable in, before his parents bought him a blue 'doggy sweater' that he wore for six months straight - often over girlier dresses and tutus. The couple assumed they were just raising a tomboy. 'She would take on "boy" personas, and just always want to play with boy things,' said Joe. 'Her need to play boy roles, and her need to be seen or spoken to as a boy at home became very persistent,' added Mimi. Then, shortly before he turned three, Jacob declared himself a boy. Happy family: Jacob was born the second of three daughters in the Massachusetts-based Lemay family . Finding the right wardrobe: From a young age, Jacob (R) preferred to wear boy clothes; when his parents still dressed him as a girl, the frustrated toddler would change outfits up to 12 times a day . Mimi said that she  was worried that Jacob's behavior would make it harder for him to build relationships - already, he had trouble relating to his peers - and she hoped her child's desire to be a boy would go away. In the meantime, she and Joe made allowances while Jacob wasn't in public. Home became a 'battleground over gender', Mimi wrote in a letter to Jacob on his fifth birthday, which was published by The Synapse, continuing that they decided to let Jacob cut his hair, wear boy clothes, and assume aspects of his male identity at home. While this made things easier when just family was around - his older sister eventually stopped teasing him about not being a 'real boy' - things were still hard at school, where Jacob didn't engage with his classmates. Jacob's parents explained that their son's behavior wasn't just that of a typical tomboy. Not content to just 'pretend' to be a boy, Jacob, then still called Mia, hated her body and would say things like: 'Why did god make me this way? Why did god make me wrong?' Trying to fit in: While he was still perceived as a girl, Jacob would only open up around his family and had trouble getting along with his peers . Accepting his identity: The Lemays eased into Jacob's transition, slowly allowing him to wear boy clothes, cut his hair short, and refer to himself as a boy at home . Mimi and Joe saw a glimpse of their future on an April 2014 trip to Disney World. They let Jacob wear a Prince Charming costume, and when strangers called him handsome he 'just glowed'. His mother said persistence, consistence, and insistence are the hallmarks of a possibly transgender child - and Jacob was demonstrating all three. In June 2014, the Lemays sat Jacob down and showed him a video about another transgender boy, Ryland Whittington. Tears in her eyes, Mimi told him: 'All we want is for you to be happy, but we need help to understand what will make you happy.' Joe asked Jacob if he wanted to be like Ryland and have everyone know he's a boy. 'I can't,' Jacob told them. 'I have to be Mia at school.' His parents told him that if he wanted to, he could start attending a new school in the fall. Jacob was elated, telling them, 'I want to be a boy always.' The Lemays began to let Jacob transition. Playing the prince: On a trip to Disney World last year, Jacob (pictured right with his sister Ella) was thrilled when strangers mistook him for a boy in his Prince Charming Costume . Happy kid: Since transitioning, Jacob has come into his own; he socializes and shows affection more since he has started to feel more like himself . Mimi says she and her husband didn't expect the 'seismic shift' in Jacob's behavior and personality that they experienced, but the boy completely came out of his shell. He immediately became more social, more affectionate, and more interested in picking up hobbies. 'He's just a different person. He's becoming himself,' said Joe. Watching how the change has affected Jacob has allowed his parents to see Jacob as he sees himself. 'I realized he had never really been Mia,' Mimi said. 'That had been a figment of my imagination.' The Lemays hope that coming forward to talk about their experience will help Jacob grow up in a society where there's a better perception of transgender people.
target: Mimi and Joe Lemay of Massachusetts say their son Jacob was never happy as a girl, adding that he has called himself a boy since he was two .
  It took years and many emotional ups and downs before the couple finally decided to let him transition .
  Now attending a school where everyone knows him as a boy, Jacob is the happiest and most outgoing he has ever been .