When your kid is friends with the kid of "The Gays"

[Anonymous]

What do you say when your kid says "Why does Zack have two moms?" Do you encourage the friendship? Do you have the same rules?

[Anonymous]

If my child asks "Why does Zack have two moms?", my response is something like "Because sometimes a woman and a woman fall in love and have a family, just like a woman and a man do." I have the same rules as I would with any other kid. I treat the situation exactly as I would if the kid had a mom and a dad.

[Anonymous]

I say because some women like to date men and some like to date other women. If the child is nice, sure, I encourage the friendship to some degree - my child is allowed to be friends with whoever he picks, within reason (i.e., no crazy behavior problems on the child's part). Why would there be different rules?

[Anonymous]

Um, wow.

[Anonymous]

Well, assuming this is a real question, here is how we've handled it so far. My kids are still pretty young, but I explain that families come in different formats, if you will. We are an interracial, transracial family that's also a mix of adopted and biological children. Some of the adoption books we have show families that are same-sex as well as single parents, so we've used that as a springboard to discuss differences and similarities. I would say that some kids have two moms, some have two dads, some have a mom and a dad, and some have either one or the other, but that we all love our kids.

[Anonymous]

There is only one little girl in my DD's class who has two mommies, and DD doesn't seem to have noticed. I have noticed this family sometimes has one of the moms do pick-up, sometimes the other mom, sometimes the grandma (like many of us daycare families -- sharing the roles and juggling things) so DD never really picked up on it. It's not one of her close friends, though.

[Anonymous]

I tell my kid they are freaks and he should avoid the kid at all costs-being a gay is contagious and he could end up wanting to be a gay too.

Come on, isn't that what you were really hoping someone would post, OP? Jesus, some people in this world just freak the hell out of me. Women love other women, other men, or both. It doesn't and shouldn't make them (or their kids) pariahs.

[Anonymous]

"Because some families have a mom and a dad, and some families have two moms, and some families have two dads, and some families have one mom, and some families have one dad - families come in all sorts of shapes and sizes."

Do I encourage it? I treat them exactly the same as other families. If my kid likes the other kid, sure. If we like the parents, then we maybe encourage the friendship a little more. If they are officious bores, I'm less likely to want to get together as a family.

I have no idea what you mean by "different rules," but I can't imagine it's good.

[Anonymous]

"the Gays"?

seriously? this must be a joke.

[Anonymous]

As a conservative Republican, church going Catholic -- I tell my kids, "Isn't that cool?"

Really. Just like the PP I explain that sometimes women fall in love with women and men fall in love with me. Not a big deal. My little one did have questions about where the babies come from and when I told her they were adopted (in our friend's case) she was surprised. When I asked her if she thought the Asian child looked like either of her non-Asian Moms she said, "I hadn't noticed."

These issues aren't big deals to kids -- only their parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a conservative Republican, church going Catholic -- I tell my kids, "Isn't that cool?"

Really. Just like the PP I explain that sometimes women fall in love with women and men fall in love with me. Not a big deal. My little one did have questions about where the babies come from and when I told her they were adopted (in our friend's case) she was surprised. When I asked her if she thought the Asian child looked like either of her non-Asian Moms she said, "I hadn't noticed."

These issues aren't big deals to kids -- only their parents.

Oh I make myself laugh. MEN. I clearly have latent sexual issues with all men. Watch your men ladies (and men!)

[Anonymous]

No different rules for playing with kids of the gays. Only with the kids of the bigots.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a conservative Republican, church going Catholic -- I tell my kids, "Isn't that cool?"

Really. Just like the PP I explain that sometimes women fall in love with women and men fall in love with me. Not a big deal. My little one did have questions about where the babies come from and when I told her they were adopted (in our friend's case) she was surprised. When I asked her if she thought the Asian child looked like either of her non-Asian Moms she said, "I hadn't noticed."

These issues aren't big deals to kids -- only their parents.

one of the funnier typos I've seen

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a conservative Republican, church going Catholic -- I tell my kids, "Isn't that cool?"

Really. Just like the PP I explain that sometimes women fall in love with women and men fall in love with me. Not a big deal. My little one did have questions about where the babies come from and when I told her they were adopted (in our friend's case) she was surprised. When I asked her if she thought the Asian child looked like either of her non-Asian Moms she said, "I hadn't noticed."

These issues aren't big deals to kids -- only their parents.

Oh I make myself laugh. MEN. I clearly have latent sexual issues with all men. Watch your men ladies (and men!)

PP, I think I love you and I'm not a man!

I'm pretty conservative about a lot of issues but this isn't one of them. We have many friends who are in same-sex relationships, most with kids at this point. Our kids don't even notice. I just say that people fall in love with who they fall in love with and families come in lots of different shapes and sizes. Rules are the same no matter what the family. And I admit I tend to favor same-sex couples; I just haven't met any yet that I wouldn't leave our kids with for a playdate / sleepover.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"the Gays"?

seriously? this must be a joke.

+1