Editing Parent (section)

== Gender and gender mix ==
A child has at least one biological [[father]] and at least one biological [[mother]], but not every [[family]] is a traditional [[nuclear family]]. There are many variants, such as [[adoption]], [[shared parenting]], [[Stepfamily|stepfamilies]], and [[LGBT parenting]], over which there has been controversy.

The social science literature rejects the notion that there is an optimal gender mix of parents or that children and adolescents with [[LGBT parenting|same-sex parents]] suffer any developmental disadvantages compared with those with two opposite-sex parents.<ref>Lamb, Michael (2009). [http://www.glad.org/uploads/docs/cases/2009-11-17-doma-aff-lamb.pdf#page=13 Affidavit – United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts]{{dead link|date=June 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name=apsp>{{cite web |author1=Short, Elizabeth |author2=Riggs, Damien W. |author3=Perlesz, Amaryll |author4=Brown, Rhonda |author5=Kane, Graeme |name-list-style=amp |url=http://www.psychology.org.au/Assets/Files/LGBT-Families-Lit-Review.pdf#page=8 |title=Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Parented Families – A Literature Review prepared for The Australian Psychological Society |access-date=2011-11-04 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110304014530/http://www.psychology.org.au/Assets/Files/LGBT-Families-Lit-Review.pdf#page=8 |archive-date=2011-03-04 }}</ref> The professionals and the major associations now agree there is a well-established and accepted consensus in the field that there is no optimal gender combination of parents.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://data.lambdalegal.org/in-court/downloads/varnum_ia_20090403_supreme-court-decision.pdf#page=10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091229034140/http://data.lambdalegal.org/in-court/downloads/varnum_ia_20090403_supreme-court-decision.pdf#page=10 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2009-12-29 |title=In The Supreme Court of Iowa No. 07–1499 |access-date=2011-11-04 }}</ref> The family studies literature indicates that it is family processes (such as the quality of parenting and relationships within the family) that contribute to determining children's well-being and "outcomes", rather than family structures, per se, such as the number, gender, sexuality and co-habitation status of parents.<ref name="apsp"/>