There are a million ways to have a family nowadays. As long as the children receive plenty of love and care, it doesn’t matter if they grow up with two dads, two moms, their grandparents, or are raised by a combination of parents and stepparents.
But it can sometimes be challenging for older generations to understand modern families. When one woman’s conservative parents found out that her husband had helped two lesbian couples have kids of their own, they sought to ruin the couple's lives. Below, you’ll find the full story that the mother shared on Reddit, as well as some of the replies concerned readers shared.
This woman's husband helped her two closest friends have children
Image credits: Ivan S / Pexels (not the actual photo)
But now, her conservative parents have decided that they don't approve of their son-in-law's actions
Image credits: Matilda Wormwood / Pexels (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Yan Krukau / Pexels (not the actual photo)
Image credits: kaboompics / Pexels (not the actual photo)
Later, the author clarified certain details about her situation
Image credits: Yan Krukau / Pexels (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Elina Fairytale / Pexels (not the actual photo)
Image credits: throwawaythrou
Image credits: Kampus Production / Pexels (not the actual photo)
There are over 2.5 million LGBTQ+ parents in the United States
Who someone chooses to date isn’t anyone else’s business. But unfortunately, there are still some people out there who have to be reminded that not everyone is straight. According to a 2024 Gallup poll, 9.3% of adults in the United States identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or something other than heterosexual.
Younger generations are even more likely to feel comfortable identifying as LGBTQ+, as over 14% of Millennials and over 23% of Gen Z say that they’re not heterosexual. And naturally, many queer couples have a desire to have children, just like many straight couples.
Just because a couple cannot create their own children biologically doesn’t mean that they don’t deserve to have them. After all, the NHS reports that one in seven couples may have difficulties conceiving. And nobody would shame straight couples for seeking alternative methods of starting a family, such as IVF or adoption.
According to UCLA’s Williams Institute, more than 2.5 million LGBTQ+ adults are parenting kids under the age of 18 in the United States. And 22% of LGBQ adults said it was very or extremely likely that they would have children in the future.
Now, there are still some individuals who believe that gay adults aren’t meant to be parents. But there’s plenty of evidence to disprove that ignorant belief. In fact, there have been multiple studies showing that queer adults can be amazing parents.
One study following children of lesbian parents from 1986 to 2018 found that these kids were faring just as well as, or even better than, their peers.
Image credits: Mikhail Nilov / Pexels (not the actual photo)
Studies show that children of gay parents are just as happy, healthy, and well-adjusted as their peers
“When I began this study … there was considerable speculation about the future mental health of children conceived through donor insemination and raised by [gay] parents,” Nanette Gartrell, M.D., one of the study’s authors, writes. “We have followed these families since the mothers were inseminating or pregnant and now find that their 25-year-old daughters and sons score as well on mental health as other adults of the same age.”
Another study supports the idea that children raised by gay fathers are happier and healthier than kids raised by straight parents. The authors found that gay fathers tend to have “more effective parenting styles, greater coparenting quality, and higher couple relationship satisfaction” than their heterosexual peers.
Meanwhile, one study found that kids raised by gay parents often perform even better in school than those raised by a straight mother and father. Clearly, there’s no reason why queer couples shouldn’t be able to have children. But what can really harm kids is being around adults who hold outdated, offensive, and bigoted beliefs.
Kids tend to repeat what they hear from their parents, so it’s not surprising that the majority of teens share their parents’ religious and political views. But it can be harmful when adults in their lives espouse prejudiced views.
For example, conservative parents might make it clear that they don’t accept gay people. But how will their own kids feel if they happen to be gay themselves? And how will their children treat classmates who identify as queer? It’s much better to teach kids to love and accept everyone (including themselves) just as they are. And that’s usually a lesson that children of gay parents will get from a young age.
Later, the author responded to several comments and shared more details about her situation
Readers were appalled by the parents' behavior, and many encouraged the author to stay as far away from them as possible
