LGBT Parenting Resources

A new addition to your family can bring your home joy and excitement, but it also means you’ll be navigating many new challenges. For LGBT parents, this can be a time that presents many questions and opportunities, but tracking down the resources you need to be a successful parent can be a daunting task.

The community of gay dads, lesbian moms, and transgender parents is growing, however, and that means many of these resources are becoming more widely available and seeing a larger audience. Whether you’re trying to find the perfect book on LGBT parenting, or simply looking for resources to connect with other local LGBT parents, you now have a wide array of resources at your disposal.

Building Your LGBT Parenting Bookshelf

There are many books on parenting available, but few of them directly address the challenges of LGBT parenting. While you may want to read some of those books, gay dads and lesbian moms may benefit more from books that directly tackle LGBT parenting, which can help answer common questions and create a strong starting point for figuring out your parenting style:

• Who’s Your Daddy? – And Other Writings on Queer Parenting: This collection of essays and interviews, edited by Canadian activist Rachel Epstein, covers a wide range of issues related to LGBT parenting, from co-parenting and fertility clinics to bisexuality and transgender parenting.
• Love Makes a Family – First published in 1999, this collection of photographs and interviews with LGBT families has aged remarkably, especially when it comes to reflecting the experiences and concerns of LGBT parents and showcasing the diversity of LGBT families.
• Family Pride – What LGBT Families Should Know about Navigating Home, School, and Safety in Their Neighborhoods: This 2013 book takes a much different approach than many others, examining the history of LGBT parenting in the United States and providing resources for families living in communities that may be hostile toward LGBT parents.

Additionally, there are tons of books out there for children with LGBT parents that you can pick up to read with your kids when they’re old enough. In books like Daddy, Papa, and Me and Keesha and Her Two Moms Go Swimming, kids can see positive and affirming representations of families like theirs.

Digital Resources

It’s hard to ignore the effect digital resources have had on modern parenting: from the explosion of “mommy blogs” to social media groups that focus on queer parenting, lesbian moms, gay dads, and other LGBT parents can benefit from connecting to other parents, diving into articles and resources for raising successful kids, and having constantly-updated sources to turn to when questions inevitably come up while parenting:

• LGBT Parenting Blogs – These can run the gamut from personal reflections on LGBT parenting to practical guides to resources and challenges for LGBT parenting. Mombian, which has been around since 2005, is probably the most widely-read parenting blog: it’s packed with resources and valuable information for LGBT parents.
• Covey – This new location-based app isn’t just for LGBT parents, but it can be an excellent resource to connect to local gay dads or lesbian moms: through its unique use of “Coveys,” parents can join or form communities to connect with parents who share similar interests to exchange tips, ask questions, and even meet in person.
• The Next Family – While this could also be considered an LGBT parenting blog, it’s also a great place to find recent news and social media feeds to see what’s new in LGBT parenting. You can also join the conversations that begin on the site by connecting to The Next Family’s social media channels, including Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

While it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and isolated as a new LGBT parent, these resources can help to build and maintain a community, both globally and locally. By connecting with other parents, you can find people who have dealt with – or are still dealing with – issues similar to yours, and share your knowledge with new LGBT parents who may have questions.

How Do You Do LGBT Parenting?

It’s becoming increasingly clear that LGBT families are changing the way we talk about parenting and raising successful kids, and you can be sure that this conversation will only become more prominent as recently-married LGBT couples begin to think about starting their own families. By ensuring that new parents have the resources they need and answers to their questions about parenting, the LGBT community can continue to support these families.

We believe that the best resource is the community itself, so we’d love to hear from you: what have you learned as an LGBT parent? What are some of the resources you use to connect to other families and raise happy, healthy kids?