Showing posts with label articles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label articles. Show all posts
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Huff Post Article
This article showed up on my facebook page and really resonated with me. I thought others might enjoy it too: The Mom Stays In The Picture
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Two More Articles
I came across these articles while searching the internet for cloth diaper options. They're about same-sex and lesbian parenting, not cloth diapering, but I thought people looking at this blog might be interested. More on cloth diapering later...
No Harm From Having Same-Sex Parents Researcher Shows
An international research study has shown there is no disadvantage to having same-sex parents verses opposite-sex ones.
Some groups have long claimed that children need one male and one female parent in order to be emotionally adjusted. This new research shows that the quality of parenting has far more to do than the gender of parents for raising children. Sociologists from the University of California looked at 81 different studies on families and found no differences in children raised by a variety of parents. The researchers, Stacey and Timothy Biblarz, spent 5 years looking over the data before coming to this conclusion.
“Children being raised by same-gender parents, on most all of the measures that we care about, self-esteem, school performance, social adjustment and so on, seem to be doing just fine and, in most cases, are statistically indistinguishable from kids raised by married moms and dads on these measures,” Biblarz says.
This research not only looks at same-sex couples and how they parent, but also at single parents who raise their children alone. Again, quality of parenting counts more towards raising healthy children.
–Summer, Staff Writer
Source: http://www.growingyourbaby.com/2010/01/26/no-harm-from-having-same-sex-parents-researcher-shows/
Study: Kids of Same-Sex Moms Do Better Than Peers
Two researchers from the US and Amsterdam combined to do the first ever study on children of same-sex moms. The results shocked many as it revealed that these children scored far higher than children of straight parents on many different levels.
Researchers Nanette Gartrell, a professor of psychiatry at the University of California at San Francisco, and Henry Bos, a behavioral scientist at the University of Amsterdam, tracked children who were raised by same-sex moms. Following the children from birth through adolescence, the researchers wanted to see how different children raised in two-mother families would be in social development. Previous studies had found no differences, though these studies often included the children of parents who had came out as lesbians later in life. For this study, the researchers wanted parents that identified as homosexual from the start.
While in areas of development and social behavior the two groups of children scored very similarly, the researchers were shocked to find major differences in other areas. Children raised by same-sex moms scored much better than those in traditional families when it came to of self-esteem and confidence. These children also did better academically, and had lower levels of reported behavioral problems.
“We simply expected to find no difference in psychological adjustment between adolescents reared in lesbian families and the normative sample of age-matched controls,” says Gartrell. “I was surprised to find that on some measures we found higher levels of [psychological] competency and lower levels of behavioral problems. It wasn’t something I anticipated.”
Of the children from same-sex parents, nearly half had reported teasing, ostracism or discrimination based on their parents. When the children were surveyed at age 10 there was some higher levels of stress due to these problems, however by age 17 the stress levels were average.
“Obviously there are some factors that may include family support and changes in education about appreciation for diversity that may be helping young people to come to a better place despite these experiences,” says Gartrell.
The researchers are not certain as to why the children of same-sex moms score better, but they think it has something to do with the negative discrimination these families face. Gartrell believes that same-sex parents make parenting a higher priority because they are aware that their children will face stigmatization. These parents may also be more likely to actively discuss topics such as tolerance and discrimination with their children.
“They are very involved in their children’s lives,” she says of the lesbian parents. “And that is a great recipe for healthy outcomes for children. Being present, having good communication, being there in their schools, finding out what is going on in their schools and various aspects of the children’s lives is very, very important.”
More research is being planned for the future, and the researchers hope to collect data on two father families next.
–Summer, staff writer
Source: http://www.growingyourbaby.com/2010/06/10/study-kids-of-same-sex-moms-do-better-than-peers/
No Harm From Having Same-Sex Parents Researcher Shows
An international research study has shown there is no disadvantage to having same-sex parents verses opposite-sex ones.
Some groups have long claimed that children need one male and one female parent in order to be emotionally adjusted. This new research shows that the quality of parenting has far more to do than the gender of parents for raising children. Sociologists from the University of California looked at 81 different studies on families and found no differences in children raised by a variety of parents. The researchers, Stacey and Timothy Biblarz, spent 5 years looking over the data before coming to this conclusion.
“Children being raised by same-gender parents, on most all of the measures that we care about, self-esteem, school performance, social adjustment and so on, seem to be doing just fine and, in most cases, are statistically indistinguishable from kids raised by married moms and dads on these measures,” Biblarz says.
This research not only looks at same-sex couples and how they parent, but also at single parents who raise their children alone. Again, quality of parenting counts more towards raising healthy children.
–Summer, Staff Writer
Source: http://www.growingyourbaby.com/2010/01/26/no-harm-from-having-same-sex-parents-researcher-shows/
Study: Kids of Same-Sex Moms Do Better Than Peers
Two researchers from the US and Amsterdam combined to do the first ever study on children of same-sex moms. The results shocked many as it revealed that these children scored far higher than children of straight parents on many different levels.
Researchers Nanette Gartrell, a professor of psychiatry at the University of California at San Francisco, and Henry Bos, a behavioral scientist at the University of Amsterdam, tracked children who were raised by same-sex moms. Following the children from birth through adolescence, the researchers wanted to see how different children raised in two-mother families would be in social development. Previous studies had found no differences, though these studies often included the children of parents who had came out as lesbians later in life. For this study, the researchers wanted parents that identified as homosexual from the start.
While in areas of development and social behavior the two groups of children scored very similarly, the researchers were shocked to find major differences in other areas. Children raised by same-sex moms scored much better than those in traditional families when it came to of self-esteem and confidence. These children also did better academically, and had lower levels of reported behavioral problems.
“We simply expected to find no difference in psychological adjustment between adolescents reared in lesbian families and the normative sample of age-matched controls,” says Gartrell. “I was surprised to find that on some measures we found higher levels of [psychological] competency and lower levels of behavioral problems. It wasn’t something I anticipated.”
Of the children from same-sex parents, nearly half had reported teasing, ostracism or discrimination based on their parents. When the children were surveyed at age 10 there was some higher levels of stress due to these problems, however by age 17 the stress levels were average.
“Obviously there are some factors that may include family support and changes in education about appreciation for diversity that may be helping young people to come to a better place despite these experiences,” says Gartrell.
The researchers are not certain as to why the children of same-sex moms score better, but they think it has something to do with the negative discrimination these families face. Gartrell believes that same-sex parents make parenting a higher priority because they are aware that their children will face stigmatization. These parents may also be more likely to actively discuss topics such as tolerance and discrimination with their children.
“They are very involved in their children’s lives,” she says of the lesbian parents. “And that is a great recipe for healthy outcomes for children. Being present, having good communication, being there in their schools, finding out what is going on in their schools and various aspects of the children’s lives is very, very important.”
More research is being planned for the future, and the researchers hope to collect data on two father families next.
–Summer, staff writer
Source: http://www.growingyourbaby.com/2010/06/10/study-kids-of-same-sex-moms-do-better-than-peers/
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Interesting Article: Are Father's Necessary?
My father-in-law passed along his copy of The Atlantic to us because he thought we'd find the cover story interesting. This one section, in particular, stood out to me:
On average, lesbian parents spend more time with their children than fathers do. They rate disputes with their children as less frequent than do hetero couples, and describe co-parenting more compatibly and with greater satisfaction. Their kids perceive their parents to be more available and dependable than do the children of heteros. They also discuss more emotional issues with their parents. They have fewer behavioral problems, and show more interest in and try harder at school.
According to Stacey and Biblarz, "Two women who chose to become parents together seemed to provide a double dose of a middle-class 'feminine' approach to parenting.” And, they conclude, “based strictly on the published science, one could argue that two women parent better on average than a woman and a man, or at least than a woman and man with a traditional division of family labor.”
-From The Atlantic, July/August 2010
Are Father's Necessary? by Pamela Paul
I find the first part of the article encouraging. As for the second part, Jen and I have often discussed how glad we are that we're able to avoid traditional gender expectations, particularly around household division of labour. For the most part we take turns doing different tasks, depending on how each of us is feeling that day. I imagine it will be much the same once we have a child. Anyway, I just found it interesting and thought I would share.
On average, lesbian parents spend more time with their children than fathers do. They rate disputes with their children as less frequent than do hetero couples, and describe co-parenting more compatibly and with greater satisfaction. Their kids perceive their parents to be more available and dependable than do the children of heteros. They also discuss more emotional issues with their parents. They have fewer behavioral problems, and show more interest in and try harder at school.
According to Stacey and Biblarz, "Two women who chose to become parents together seemed to provide a double dose of a middle-class 'feminine' approach to parenting.” And, they conclude, “based strictly on the published science, one could argue that two women parent better on average than a woman and a man, or at least than a woman and man with a traditional division of family labor.”
-From The Atlantic, July/August 2010
Are Father's Necessary? by Pamela Paul
I find the first part of the article encouraging. As for the second part, Jen and I have often discussed how glad we are that we're able to avoid traditional gender expectations, particularly around household division of labour. For the most part we take turns doing different tasks, depending on how each of us is feeling that day. I imagine it will be much the same once we have a child. Anyway, I just found it interesting and thought I would share.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
