SodaHead Living 2012/07/05 21:00:00
California lawmakers are pushing a new bill that would allow children to legally have more than two parents in order to address complicated parenting situations. However, opponents have pointed out that the bill would bring equally complicated legal issues into the mix -- tax deductions, citizenship, and assistance, to name a few. We asked the public if it was OK for a child to have more than two parents.
After more than 800 votes, the public still couldn't come to a consensus. It was split right down the middle. This is a pretty complex issue. On the plus side, additional parents are a reality that many kids are dealing with, especially in non-traditional homes. On the other hand, additional parents can potentially cause more disagreements and confusion within the non-nuclear family and among society at large. Needless to say, there are a lot of elements at work.
Parents Limit Parents
Though parenthood didn't have the strongest effect on how voters responded, it's the most immediate demographic. They are the ones who are going to make that decision (or at least fall into that position), after all. What's interesting is that people who don't want kids were most likely to OK additional parents. It's fine by them, as long as they aren't the ones doing it.
As you might expect, age had an enormous correlation. Voters under the age of 45 were about 35% more likely to give their blessing, while very few voters over 45 were OK with additional parents. We assume the primary reason for this is that younger voters are more likely to have either grown up with multiple parents, or known people who grew up with multiple parents. Or maybe they're just more open-minded.
The Man of the House
The gender correlation was interesting. Based on the results, women are about 23% more likely to be OK with additional parents than men. This could be the result of two elements. First, previous polls have suggested women are more comfortable with the thought of homosexual relationships. Second, men are sometimes expected to be the "head of the household." If a father has to share that responsibility with a step-parent, it could create difficulty.