Some children were reared without a father. However, owing to the fact that she was born with three fathers on her birth certificate, this kid is extremely fortunate!
Dr. Ian Jenkins is a 45-year-old doctor and his two partners, Alan Mayfield and Jeremy Allen Hodges of San Diego, are in a polyamorous family. Polyamory is the practice of having an open intimate or romantic relationship with more than one individual at the same time. Heterosexuals, lesbians, gays, and bisexuals can all be involved in this sort of arrangement.
The “throuple” from California is making history after putting all of their names as the dads on the same birth certificate!
In 2017, a court ruled that three polyamorous dads should be listed on their daughter Piper’s birth certificate, making them legal history. What they accomplished has encouraged other polyamorous families to fight for greater legal recognition in the United States. Aside from Piper, the dads now have a 14-month-old son named Parker. Since they were both birthed via egg donor and surrogate, Piper and Parker are half-siblings.
Dr. Ian is a university professor and expert in hospital medicine. He referred to their ‘odd family’ arrangement as “just three tame, regular people who spend a lot of time talking about what to have for dinner.” Ian and Alan have been together for 17 years. They’ve been in love with Jeremy for eight years. The kids refer to Jeremy as “daddy,” while Alan is known as “Dada” and Ian is known as “Papa.”
Around 8 years ago, the family’s tale began. Ian and Alan first met in 2003, but they were unsure if they wanted children. But when they encountered zoo-keeper Jeremy in 2012, the topic came up again. And once they decided, their friend Meghan offered embryos as a gift. After several attorneys were hired to represent them, Piper was born thanks to a different pal who volunteered to be the surrogate for the eggs.
The fathers appealed to a local San Diego court, but they initially refused to include them all on the birth certificate. She stated that she was unable to establish a precedent. Ian said, “She looked at all the options in front of her and found a way to use existing laws to give us the first birth certificate of its kind anywhere. ”
Parker was born years later.
This motivated Ian to write a book, which they have already published. The book is called “Three Dads and a Baby.” You may be familiar with the title because it’s a play on the 1987 blockbuster comedy film “Three Men and a Baby,” which features Tom Selleck, Ted Danson, and Steve Guttenberg.
“Three Dads and a Baby,” about their unusual family, is one of the titles. Readers will also learn how to establish a “consistent parenting style” in this chapter. The book will be released by Cleis Press and Simon & Schuster in March.
The book also discusses what to do if your kid wants to distinguish between each of you. There are also several good aspects mentioned in the book, such as having three incomes and three people feeding at night.
Ian said, in an interview “We did have slight attention to the fact that our kids might be perceived differently. We didn’t want them to become a target of teasing or bullying or online abuse.” Fortunately, their children were never subjected to anything like this. Ian continued, “Our oldest now is in preschool, and the other parents and kids are like, ‘Cool! Tell us that story.’”
According to them, the key to a healthy, polyamorous relationship is ‘continuous conversation.’” Ian explained, “When our oldest develops the ability to have a tantrum like a reactor breaking down in Chernobyl, we all have to be on the same page. What’s the best approach. How much time for a time out. What do you call it. Does the parent need help or is it adding fuel to the fire. ”
Their family also wanted to raise awareness of the need for more legal rights for polyamorous families, according to Ian. He is pleased and feels fortunate to live in a ‘liberal’ state like California.
