Many argue that a two parent household is the more beneficial environment for a child to be raised in, but do you feel that kids who're being raised by unmarried or divorced parents are at a significant loss -- even if both parents are active in their lives?

I think it depends on the parents, period, because I knew a kid whose parents never married and even if they HAD been, he still would've been royally screwed up in that household.

I don't think it's so much the number of parents but having some kind of guidance with loving nurturing parents, even if there's only one of them.

It would be nice to have 2 loving parents in a household but I don't think its a necessity. I wish I grew up in a one parent household.

Pretty much what Supernova, CeCe and Tony said. A child can be worse off in a two-parent home where the parents are constantly at each others throats. Of course they're just as screwed even if the parents are divorced but don't put the best interests of their children first.

No, I don't think so. As long as they have adult influence that is positive, even one parent in their life can be enough.

There has been more than one president who was raised by a single mother.

I agree with what everyone is saying - unmarried parents who are involved in their child's life can be just as effective as a two-parent household and more-so if the two-parent household is dysfunctional.

So long as both parents are active in the kids life, it's not at all necessary that they be married or all live under the same roof. Very shortly after my kids were born, me and their mother fell out and were on the verge of breaking up....I told this female friend of mine about it and her response was: "think about those babies." I'm like, "what?!" I can't believe there are still some people who think that mommies and daddies have to be married in order to thoroughly raise a child.