And if you really wanted a no-negative situation, you'd think about if the child had three moms and three dads. A lesbian couple, a gay couple, and a straight couple. This way the child would be able to get a glimpse at the many paths that people choose when it comes to who they love.

Well having 4 parents could be a little confusing for the kid; it means 4 people to share love with, favorites would probably be picked, 4 ppl could mean more intense arguments when sides are picked... It would just be strange I suppose. Is there any particular reason you specified a gay and lesbian couple? I mean, wouldn't it be pretty similar with 2 straight couples?

Kids are a lot more adaptable than we give them credit for. When they are brought up in a very open environment, they usually take up after it. Of course, questions will be asked. Kids do not know everything, and they are curious. However, the situation with more than two parents won't forever be confusing for the child; he/she will get past it.

An example of a child's adaptability would be my niece. My sister has brought her up, letting her know that her uncle is gay. She has let her know that a gay guy is a guy that likes another guy, etc., and my niece can even joke around with me and say, along with giggling, 'My mommy said you're gay!' She has seen me with my boyfriend, and she even likes being around him. She isn't weirded out by it, and she understands. She hasn't been showing any sort of 'lean' towards homosexuality, she only shows that she is accepting of it. And it's because of the open environment she's brought up in.

I absolutely agree that children should be brough up in open environments; it would greatly reduce the prejudice in the world foe future generations. But that can be done in any situation, whether the parents are straight or gay and whether it's 2 or 4 parents, but I'm just wondering what a gay couple+lesbian couple raising a child together brings to the table that a normal family (2 parents) can't? I'm sure the kid would adapt just fine, but I don't know if it would be better than two parents. The more parents there are, the more split the child's love could become. In many situations a child has a favorite between his mom and dad, it may not be a huge difference but there is a favorite. If there are 4 parents then there it's more likely that there will be more distinction between favorites.

I don't think it's unheard of at all! Perhaps in my country it is more common, but I know a lot of people bought up by two gay couples. Or one gay couple and a straight couple. Or one gay person.

It seems that the majority of the two gay couples situation is from surrogacy or sperm donation. Which is pretty cool, really.

None of the people I know have had any sort of negative affects from growing up in that kind of environment. If anything, they're more open and loving. Not that you can't be open and loving if you're bought up in a different environment.

I see nothing wrong with it, and if the kid was born into it, they won't either. When your a child, no matter what abnormalities your parents have, you still idolize them to some extent, so if a child is born into two dads/two moms/or both, they will find that to be normal.

I think the only malicious effect that could protruding from this sort of situation is if it happened externally, post conception, during childhood. As in the all American family splitting up and getting hitched with their own gender. With my experience of divorce, it's more the separation that effects the older kids. I was 4 when my parents split, my sister was 8, it honestly never had much of an effect on me, because from pretty muchhh all of my major memories, i was with a single parent, and i found this relatively normal when i was younger.

BUT in retrospect... At a point in my life, I did have two dads and two moms. My mom did get engaged once, we were going to be living with him, and they saw each other for a couple of years... and my dad is engaged currently, to someone who is essentially my second mom.... While the relationships aren't homosexual, I still had two moms and two dads at one point, and I never really thought much of it.

Depending on when in the child's life this happens, it could be bad for the child, but not because it's a homosexual relationship, but because split ups are tough as hell, or at least can be.