There's a really deeply entrenched cultural idea that women don't know how to successfully raise boys, but it's pretty off base. First off, lots of men whose dads ran off, or died, or whatever became capable, responsible members of society. Several of them became President of the United States.
Secondly, kids raised by gay parents have statistically better outcomes in school and in having "successful" lives. About 100,000 of those families are two lesbian moms.
Less than 23% of American households are made up of a two-parent hetersexual household. A lot of dads are distant, dysfunctional, or constantly fighting with the child’s mother — a dynamic that actual is the biggest predictor of delinquency and substance abuse.
(University of Cambridge fatherhood expert Michael) Lamb says that decades ago, researchers were concerned about risks to children, and “their concerns were driven by a lot of cultural assumptions, which led them to propose kids are better off in the traditional family.”
“The evidence, on the whole, hasn’t supported that, but the beliefs have persisted in society,” he says.
Another expert on fatherhood, sociologist Tim Biblarz of the University of Southern California-Los Angeles, says the evidence shows economics plays a significant role in the risk for negative outcomes, such as poorer grades and lower educational attainment, substance abuse or poor social adjustment.
“Those who grow up with single mothers with adequate socioeconomic resources tend to do well. The children of poor single mothers are more at risk,” Biblarz says. “Many of the results that say that kids are at increased risk for negative outcomes have to do with economics.”
“What’s important is not whether they are raised by one or two parents. It’s how good is the relationship with the parent, how much support they’re getting from that parent and how harmonious is the environment.
