LGBT Families
The 2000 Census estimated that 163,897 households with children are headed by same-sex couples in the United States and this number is rapidly growing and expected to be much larger today. With same sex marriage only recognized in nine states, many of these same-sex couples are not legally married or fully accepted in society, and therefore face many challenges more traditional families are able to avoid. Some of these challenges include legal hassles due to their marital status, homophobia from students at school as well as the parents of those students, and simple tasks such as filling out school forms for their children. Although LGBT families face these additional challenges, research has shown that children with LGBT parents do just as well as children with heterosexual students.
A study completed in 2004, compares a group of 44 teenagers with same-sex couples as parents and 44 teenagers with opposite-sex couples as parents. All participants were part of a national, randomly selected sample of teenagers from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. This study showed minimal group differences between the two groups of students.
A common belief among society is that children of LGBT parents have trouble developing romantic relationships due to a missing mother or father figure. This concern has been used by judges making custody rulings quite often. However, in this research study, equal numbers of teenagers from each group reported having a romantic relationship in the past 18 months, showing no difference between the romantic relationships of children raised by LGBT parents, and those of children raised by same sex parents.
Additionally, participants from the two groups did not differ in grade point average, or in symptoms of depression or low self-esteem. Not only that, but the study reported that children of LGBT parents actually reported closer ties with their schools and classmates than those raised by opposite sex parents.
This study also found that about half the children with LGBT parents had been target with homophobic teasing from their peers by the age of 10. These children tended to report more psychological distress than those not targeted by homophobic teasing (Dingfelder, 2005).
The homophobic teasing done by classmates is one of the main challenges that children of LGBT parents face in school. It is important for teachers and school administrators to be aware of this possibility and catch it when it happens. Teachers should make it known that the behavior is completely unacceptable as soon as it seems to become an issue, in order to keep the situation from escalating.
If a student raised by LGBT parents needs more help than the school district can provide, there are many support groups for children of LGBT parents. Some of these groups include Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere (COLAGE), and Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG). These support groups can help children with LGBT parents learn how to handle the homophobia from these peers. Most importantly these groups help the children realized that they are not alone and teach them skills needed to cope with having LGBT parents in a homophobic world (Ball, 2012).
Students raised by LGBT parents face additional challenges due to the homophobic climate of today's society, but overall they are capable of as much inside and outside of the classroom as children raised by opposite sex parents.
If you would like to know more about how educators can support children of blended and non-traditional families in general, please click on the Resources tab on the navigation bar on the top of the screen or click here for classroom resources and click here for school wide resources!
A study completed in 2004, compares a group of 44 teenagers with same-sex couples as parents and 44 teenagers with opposite-sex couples as parents. All participants were part of a national, randomly selected sample of teenagers from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. This study showed minimal group differences between the two groups of students.
A common belief among society is that children of LGBT parents have trouble developing romantic relationships due to a missing mother or father figure. This concern has been used by judges making custody rulings quite often. However, in this research study, equal numbers of teenagers from each group reported having a romantic relationship in the past 18 months, showing no difference between the romantic relationships of children raised by LGBT parents, and those of children raised by same sex parents.
Additionally, participants from the two groups did not differ in grade point average, or in symptoms of depression or low self-esteem. Not only that, but the study reported that children of LGBT parents actually reported closer ties with their schools and classmates than those raised by opposite sex parents.
This study also found that about half the children with LGBT parents had been target with homophobic teasing from their peers by the age of 10. These children tended to report more psychological distress than those not targeted by homophobic teasing (Dingfelder, 2005).
The homophobic teasing done by classmates is one of the main challenges that children of LGBT parents face in school. It is important for teachers and school administrators to be aware of this possibility and catch it when it happens. Teachers should make it known that the behavior is completely unacceptable as soon as it seems to become an issue, in order to keep the situation from escalating.
If a student raised by LGBT parents needs more help than the school district can provide, there are many support groups for children of LGBT parents. Some of these groups include Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere (COLAGE), and Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG). These support groups can help children with LGBT parents learn how to handle the homophobia from these peers. Most importantly these groups help the children realized that they are not alone and teach them skills needed to cope with having LGBT parents in a homophobic world (Ball, 2012).
Students raised by LGBT parents face additional challenges due to the homophobic climate of today's society, but overall they are capable of as much inside and outside of the classroom as children raised by opposite sex parents.
If you would like to know more about how educators can support children of blended and non-traditional families in general, please click on the Resources tab on the navigation bar on the top of the screen or click here for classroom resources and click here for school wide resources!