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Impacts of same sex parents on children
Family relationships on child's development
Impacts of same sex parents on children
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The topic of fathers and their impact on child outcomes has always been of interest to me. People tend to believe women are naturally nurturing and better than men at parenting children. I believe that personality holds much more power over who will be an effective parent and that gender is not a valuable variable in those skills. I wanted to learn more about the research to either counter or support my ideas on the topic. As an ambitious woman, having a partner that would be very involved with child care is something I care about. I wanted to gain more knowledge on the essentiality and impact of fathering on children’s development and other outcomes. The article arguing that fathers are essential for child development was “Father’s Influence on Their Children’s Cognitive and Emotional Development: From Toddlers to Pre-K” (Cabrera, Shannon, & Tamis-Lemonda, 2007). The researchers analyzed mother and father pairs’ income, education, their parenting styles, and their children’s cognitive, language, social, and emotional development. While income was related to fathers’ supportiveness, it was not consistent across the three ages that were measured. Father’s education was related to supportiveness at all three ages. The overall findings of the study were that …show more content…
They focused on analyzing the literature that included couples and parents of more gender configurations than what is typically represented. Researchers acknowledged the shortcomings of stereotypes and previous research done such as confounding family structure with gender. This is a frequent confounding variable when researchers compare child outcomes from single mother households to heterosexual parent households to argue that fathers are necessary for child rearing. They individually broke down any strengths or weaknesses that come from heterosexual couples, lesbian couples, gay couples, single males, and single female
This academic journal written by Timothy J. Biblarz and Judith Stacey is to attack the well-known idea of children needing both a mother and father role in their household. Biblarz is an associate professor of sociology and gender studies at the University of Southern California, while Stacey is also a professor of sociology at New York University, formerly working alongside Biblarz. Both are very passionate about gender, family, and sexuality studies, mainly emphasizing the effects of same-sex parenting. Stacey wrote the novel, Unhitched, which diminishes the popular belief about different gender parenting from her experiences. Biblarz and Stacey conduct a very detailed research study on both same-sex households, as well as heterosexual households to see what the similarities and differences are. Throughout this journal, the two conclude that children do not need a mother and father figure to function properly, as they are just as well off, if not better, with lesbian or gay parents.
The father’s role in a child’s development has traditionally been underestimated. According to researchers Ross Parke and Kevin MacDonald and, authors of the article “Parent-Child Physical Play,” which appeared in the journal Sex Roles, fathers play an integral role in the emotional and social development of children. Father-child interaction tends to be more intense, and through their shared activities children learn how to express and control their emotions with their fathers. By working together, mothers and fathers help their children develop their skills across the spectrum.
This article discusses three studies conducted by Moon and Hoffman that investigated others’ parenting expectations for mothers and father and parents’ reports of their parenting behaviors with their 3-to-6-year-old children and demonstrates that mothers rated higher for physical care and emotional support than fathers and that mothers reported engaging in the parenting behaviors assessed more than fathers across the subscales used. They discuss how, in each different study, they saught to observe parent and child gender interactions only for “personal-interaction parenting” (e.g., hugging their child) and found the lowest scores for fathers with daughters. They then present their findings and the relation between parents’ rating of suitability and their own behaviors that support the view that gender-based expectation shape gender differences in their parenting.
Although sixteen states have legalized same-sex marriage, the idea of same-sex parenting remains a controversial topic in America. As American families continue to vary from the traditional heterosexual husband and wife headed families, developmental differences among the children reared by two lesbians or two gay men pique the interest of both the public and developmental psychologists. Perhaps children raised by two mothers or two fathers will exhibit much different gender role behaviors and identify differently with their gender than children reared by heterosexual parents. By observing children raised by different parental groups the possible differences, and subsequent benefits, in gender identity and sex roles can be discerned.
(Ed.). The role of the father in child development (fifth edition), pp. 551-557. New York:
good parenting abilities are vital to maintain a viable relationship with children. The value of a father in
Research over the years has emphasized the role family has upon children within a family system. The role a mother plays for her children has been researched continuously for decades, often neglecting the impact of the father. With this lack of knowledge surrounding a father's paternal responsibilities and implications as a nurturer, it is important to examine the consequences of their actions on their children's future. Recently, research has begun to include the father's role, in particular to their daughter and features they look for in their romantic counterparts. If this research were to establish that young girls follow their father's prototype when choosing a romantic partner, parenting styles may change and fathers might become more involved. More importantly, fathers would know their role as not just the provider for material things but for emotional and psychological stability. Father daughter relationships are an important area to research because reports show that father involvement can be vital to children, improving their social skills and future adult relationships.
Dr. Haim Ginott, a renowned Psychologist, mentor and a teacher once remarked, “Children are like wet cement; whatever falls on them makes an impression.” Thus, the effects of absent fathers on children may in fact, shape their perception of the world around them. Even though developing a stronger relationship with one parent is an effect of absenteeism fathers, it also comes with the challenges of engaging in early sexual activities, diminished cognitive development and poor school performance, which are effects exhibited by many daughters.
The Family structure has changed significantly in the last fifty years. With higher percentages of marriage ending in divorce, and higher rates of childbearing out of wedlock, single parent families are increasing rapidly. “Seventy percent of all the children will spend all or part of their lives in a single-parent household.” (Dowd) Studies have shown that the children of these families are affected dramatically, both negatively and positively. Women head the majority of single- parent families and as a result, children experience many social problems from growing up without a father. Some of these problems include lack of financial support, and various emotional problems by not having a father around, which may contribute to problems later in life. At the same time, children of single-parent homes become more independent because they learn to take care of themselves, and rely on others to do things for them.
There indicators of child developmental outcomes were categorized into parent and child relationship quality, children’s cognitive development, children’s gender role behavior, children’s gender identity, children’s sexual preference, and children’s social and emotional development. There analysis showed that children with same-sex parents fared equally to children raised by heterosexual parents when comparing developmental outcomes. Same-sex parents also reported a significantly better relationship with their children than heterosexual parents, which was measured by the parent or child perception of the quality of their relationship. This goes back to the argument that parent sexuality has no impact on the child but rather the relationship between the parent and the child has is the most impactful. In Crowl, Ahn and Baker (2008) meta-analysis study also found that the parent sexual orientation had no effect on gender identity, cognitive development, psychological adjustment, and sexual
It has been said, children from two-parent families are better off. The setting is also a factor to take into consideration. The increase in single- parent homes has had an extensive and negative effect on children’s development. 50% of marriages end in divorce. We have young people with young minds having children, they can hardly take care of themselves at the age of 21, yet they have decided to bring four children into this world to be raised by one parent. In some communities, majority of the children are being raised by a single parent. Statistics have shown that children raised in a healthy single parent home have more problems emotionally, psychologically, in school, and with the law than those raised in healthy two-parent homes. No matter how good a single parent is, that a single parent can NEVER do for the child how two present, committed, parent partners share and work together; communicate together and solve problems together as equals.
A father is someone who protects, loves, supports and raises his children, whether they are biologically related or not. Every single person living on the Earth has a biological father. These biological fathers are supposed to take the responsibility of being a father because they did help bring a child into this world. One of the main responsibilities of a father is providing the child with the necessities of life, which include food, shelter, and clothes. Not only is a father responsible for the physical aspect but the emotional aspect as well. Children need to feel loved, cared for, and emotional support from their parents. A child needs to be reassured, so a father must show his affection, both physically and emotionally. A father needs to be involved in his children’s life. He needs to be a problem solver, playmate, provider, preparer, and he has to have principles. A father has to pr...
The role of a father in his child’s life extends past the knowledge of far too many, and can oftentimes be eclipsed by the role of the mother. Although the mother’s role is essential and greatly valued in a child’s life and development, the father plays a significant role as well. No mother can fill the father’s place in a child’s heart, for fathers nurture and play differently than a mother. Several studies show that an attendant and highly involved father is critical, especially in the early stages of a child’s life. The absence of a father during this stage can lead to “impaired social and behavioral abilities in adults” (Robert, 2013). But what is the role of the father? This paper discusses the role of the expectant father, the birth experience for him, the transition into fatherhood, and the rise of single fathers.
In America, the 2009 Census reported 11.6 million as the number of single parents living with their children in 2009. There were 9.9 million single mothers and 1.7 million single fathers. There is a huge disparity between these numbers. One wonders where the other 8.2 million fathers are and why it is that women are the majority are being the primary caregiver. The most important concern is how the children of these families have matured into responsible, well-adjusted adults. Circumstantial women are those that are single, head of the household, earning income from two or more jobs, and raising children on their own. Most of these women have been put in this position due to the male figure being absent. Single women far outnumber men in the same situation. Also, a man’s income would most likely be higher. Women not only run the household, but also go to work to support th...
Mothers are the primary caretakers of the children. The fathers have had minimal care taking responsibilities. Many women, if they had a career before hand, have to give it up to stay at home with the child. Although, many fathers where the wives must work become important in the process of care taking because their role must increase to their children. Studies of human fathers and their infants confirm that many fathers can act sensitively with their infant (according to Parke & Sawin, 1980) and their infants form attachments to both their mothers and fathers at roughly the same age (according to Lamb, 1977).