In this modern age, families do not come in cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all molds. As long as it's consensual, adults are free to create the families they believe are right for them. One family comprising four adults in a polyamorous relationship and four children are doing just that and sharing their journey on social media under the username Polyfamory.
Alysia and Tyler Rodgers were a married couple who fell in love with their friends Sean and Taya Hartless. Alysia and Tyler already had two children. Instead of fighting these feelings, the couples decided to commit and become a polyamorous foursome.
Not long after, the couples decided to move in together and create one big happy family. Tyler and Alysia helped make the transition easier for their children by being open and honest.
"Our kids already knew we were dating Sean and Taya," Tyler told Today, per People.
"We told them: 'You know, Mom has a boyfriend and Dad has a girlfriend and we're going to move in together,” Tyler explained. “We're all going to be a big family and they're going to help parent you, so we're going to need you to treat them like you treat us — like parents.'"
Because of their honesty, Tyler muses that the transition was "really easy." The family decided to add more members to the mix only one year later. Two babies were born in 2021.
"I birthed one and Taya birthed the other," Alysia explained. The quad declined to learn which man fathered each child. Alysia phrases it as they "did not regulate the biology" of the babies.
"We're all equal parents to all of the children and it's not up for debate or discussion," Alysia added. "It's not something that we're trying to hide from the children either."
If at a later time it becomes necessary to find out that information, the quad is open to it. “If [the kids] want to know where their DNA comes from, we will absolutely go down that path with them. But at this point in their lives, it doesn't matter,” Alysia concluded.
Taya weighed in, "We wanted to do everything we could to make sure that everybody feels like an equal parent. At this point, finding out their genetics would change nothing."
The quad agrees on the main issues, but each has their own individual parenting style. "I tend to be a little more — some would use the word 'harsh,' I use the word 'structure,'" Sean explained. "I think that there's benefits to the way I do things, and there's benefits to the way they want to do things through gentle parenting."
The quad knows many people do not understand or accept their lifestyle choices but firmly believe that this is the best way for their family to thrive. Tyler summed it up: “At the end of the day, we're just like any other monogamous family — there's just four of us. Being a parent is so much more than just biology, and that's what we're about."
