Why Gay Parents May be The Best Parents
by In her research, Goldberg has found that many children of gay and lesbian parents say that more acceptance of gay and lesbian families, not less, would help solve this problem.
Gay marriage, and especially gay parenting, has been in the cross hairs in recent days.
On Jan. 6, Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum told a New Hampshire audience that children are better off with a father in prison than being raised in a home with lesbian parents and no father at all. And last Monday (Jan. 9), Pope Benedict called gay marriage a threat “to the future of humanity itself,” citing the need for children to have heterosexual homes.
But research on families headed by gays and lesbians doesn’t back up these dire assertions. In fact, in some ways, gay parents may bring talents to the table that straight parents don’t.
Gay parents “tend to be more motivated, more committed than heterosexual parents on average, because they chose to be parents,” said Abbie Goldberg, a psychologist at Clark University in Massachusetts who researches gay and lesbian parenting. Gays and lesbians rarely become parents by accident, compared with an almost 50 percent accidental pregnancy rate among heterosexuals,Goldberg said. “That translates to greater commitment on average and more involvement.”
And while research indicates that kids of gay parents show few differences in achievement, mental health, social functioning and other measures, these kids may have the advantage of open-mindedness, tolerance and role models for equitable relationships, according to some research. Not only that, but gays and lesbians are likely to provide homes for difficult-to-place children in the foster system, studies show. (Of course, this isn’t to say that heterosexual parents can’t bring these same qualities to the parenting table.) [5 Myths About Gay People Debunked]
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Post Commentgirishpuri
On January 17, 2012 at 7:15 am
i like it
Thewoodlandelf
On January 17, 2012 at 1:59 pm
Thank you! I have a couple gay cousins and all they hear about is how gay marriage and gay parenting will destory the moral fibers of humanity and yadda, yadda, yadda. Well, gay marriage has been legal in my state for a little while now, and as far as I can tell the state hasn’t suffered a catastrophic meltdown because of it. I suppose that a father and mother is the ideal parenting situation, but let’s face it, how many kids are raised by divorced parents, single parents, relatives, etc. I do not understand why gay parenting makes some people so upset, yet they accept single-parenting. I would think two parents have got to be better than one, whether they are gay or straight.
Kristie Claar
On January 17, 2012 at 3:36 pm
Excellent article.