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Gay Parenting:How different is it from normal parenting?

Gay Parenting

It would be a tough task to find out the head count of gay parent in the US, as various numbers are given.  For instance, the American Community Survey from the U.S> Census Bureau in 2010 stated that there were 594,000 gay parent couples in the United States which translates to nearly 1% of those across the country.

However, it was also reported that out of those gay couples, more than 19% have children- whether adopted, step children or biological.  The survey, however, did not track the number of children in each gay household.

However, it is estimated through some independent surveys that the number could be anywhere between 1 million to 9 million American girls and boys who are living with parents who are gay.

There are various psychological and social researches being undertaken on the outcome of children who are brought up by gay parents, and who have openly lived in such households- and all of those researches have indicated positive results.

Gay parenting has often been likened to same sex parenting, single parenting and fatherlessness, as various studies have often related single parent upbringing without a father to higher incidence of drug abuse, lower socio-economic condition and poor academic result.

However, when comparisons of heterosexual households to that of gay households was made, then that provided a more realistic and clear position on the outcomes of gay parenting.

There was a Meta analysis in 2010 of 33 parenting studies that were headed by a NYC sociologist, Judith Stacey.  She, actually, came out with a very remarkable conclusion stating that the gender of parents does not influence the child outcomes.  This entire study was based on a cross study that had spanned twenty years regarding the success of children in various types of households.

There are other studies conducted that suggested that children who had gay parents were not only normal, but also managed to excel academically when compared to their classmates coming from traditional families.

Summary:

We must understand that parenting requires two people in a healthy relationship, which contributes to the success of their children.  If parents are not committed and do not care for their kids, they cannot provide a healthy environment required for the growth of their kids, no matter what their gender is.

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