"It is better that children have two parents than one parent, and assuming that these parents love each other and love the child and have economic and social security and stability, then that's the critical ingredient for the optimal growth and development of the child," said Dr. Benjamin Siegel, head of an AAP committee that studied the issue.
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THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
The group previously backed allowing a biological parent's partner to adopt a child and allowing same-*** spouses to receive federal benefits.
But its new statement, published in the journal Pediatrics, is based on more recent data showings kids do just as well when they are raised by parents of the same or different genders.
"Scientific evidence affirms that children have similar developmental and emotional needs and receive similar parenting whether they are raised by parents of the same or different genders," AAP said, citing research over the last 30 years.
One 2010 study in the journal Pediatrics found teenagers with lesbian moms performed better in school and had fewer social problems, for example, when compared to teens with a mother and father (reut.rs/i7bS6w).
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The pediatrician's group said marriage, not civil unions, is key because it offers families stronger economic security and helps avoid issues of discrimination, intolerance and inequality that can affect parents' self-esteem. Various state laws on adoption by gay and lesbian parents are also "an inconsistent patchwork," it added.
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"My experience is that parents are happier (and) the kids are fine," he said.