Study on Kids of Same-Sex Parents Yields Results We Can All Learn From
The social scientists compared these results with the population of Australia at large, and found that children raised by gay parents are doing well in regard to their overall health, and that for the most part their families get along agreeably. On the whole, these kids were no different from children from the general population. Crouch suggests that this may be in part because same-sex couples face less pressure to conform to traditional gender roles, which makes for a more harmonious home life. He said:
“Previous research has suggested that parenting roles and work roles, and home roles within same-sex parenting families, are more equitably distributed when compared to heterosexual families… [so] people take on roles that are suited to their skill sets rather than falling into those gender stereotypes, which is mum staying home and looking after the kids and dad going out to earn money.”
If parents are free to be who they would like to be then they are happy. If they feel the duties of parenting are fairly split in a manner that works for both of them, then they don’t experience a lot of resentment regarding the roles they play within the family. This creates a positive attitude around the home, and makes for happy kids who feel loved. I think the same can be true for heterosexual couples who come to non-traditional arrangements about parenting – situations like my own, for example, where I’ve stayed at home while my wife works full-time. It’s wonderful to see a study provide hard evidence for this. Sadly, and not surprisingly, social stigma attached to gay parents did negatively affect some families’ assessment of their mental health. Dr. Crouch writes, “[This] stigma can be subtle, such as letters home from school addressed to Mr and Mrs. The more stigma the family experienced, the greater the impact on the social and emotional well-being of the children.”
Dr. Crouch pointed out that this stigma can also come from politicians who speak detrimentally of same-sex couples, arguing that kids do best when raised in an environment with both a mother and a father, and so therefore marriage should be restricted to heterosexual couples for the sake of the children.
