Do children need parents of both genders?

[SpiritMeadow]

I’m being a bis lazy and just skimmed the previous posts. A major problem in studies comparing same gender to traditional families is a major sampling bias. Most studies (at least in theory) try to take a random sample of people to study. Our societies not accepting of same gender families has resulted in many cases in only the very best same gender people having children in their care.

So many studies compare the very best same gendered families to the average traditional families.

Thus the making any such research questionable.

I’ve never seen any good studies that suggest that only traditional male/female parenting is good. What I have seen through a number of studies over the years is that children do well if they are loved, given time, supported in their identity and specialness, and given a rich environment in which to explore. This seems to have very little to do with gender of the care giver or their situation. Of course all children deserve a decent financial situation but everyone knows of dozens of anecdotal cases of kids reared in dire circumstances by tenacious mothers who went on to be leaders in their fields. Anecdotal evidence is not definitive by any means, but as I said, I’ve yet so see a good study (one not done by fundamentalists from the right) done by a reputable institution that suggests that only the traditional family situation produces good results.

 

[teancum79]

I’ve never seen any good studies that suggest that only traditional male/female parenting is good. What I have seen through a number of studies over the years is that children do well if they are loved, given time, supported in their identity and specialness, and given a rich environment in which to explore. This seems to have very little to do with gender of the care giver or their situation. Of course all children deserve a decent financial situation but everyone knows of dozens of anecdotal cases of kids reared in dire circumstances by tenacious mothers who went on to be leaders in their fields. Anecdotal evidence is not definitive by any means, but as I said, I’ve yet so see a good study (one not done by fundamentalists from the right) done by a reputable institution that suggests that only the traditional family situation produces good results.

I hear you, but I’ve also been unable to find a study that accounts for selection bias in terms of same gender families. Many run about claiming that their study “proves” that kids do as well or better in alternative families as in traditional, but they do not control for all relevant factors.

Personally I’d like to see a good study done some day. While I oppose same gender “marriages” and child adoption on moral grounds I dislike having unpopular groups demonized and blamed far all sorts of things they are not doing.