Is your family normal? The teaser leapt out from the cover of this month’s Redbook. Turn to page 207 to find out, it continued. Like George, I’m a good little good monkey but I am curious, so I turned dutifully to page 207 to find out if my family was normal. I expected to find a quiz of some sorts, instead I found a well-written special report, The Changing Shape of The American Family. Here are some of the highlights of the report:
(1) The definition of “family” has changed over the past few generations. 72% of adults agree that there is more than one way to define the term and 99% said that families have changed compared to a generation ago.
(2) 70% of adults polled said that families have changed for the worse, although family life has changed for the better.
(3) Types of families include:
The traditional mother, father, two kid family.
Couples who choose not to have kids.
Blended families where a couple brings kids from previous relationships into the marriage. Some go on to have kids together (yours, mine and ours).
Couples who divorce but still live in the same house and raise the children together. Most often one parent will live in a separate part of the house like a basement.
Single parents by choice– those who want to have kids but not a partner.
Couples who have kids through surrogates and allow the birth mother to remain a part of their lives.
Couples who become foster/adoptive parents to a large number of kids. Many have their own children as well but decide to become foster parents and some then go on to adopt these kids.
Same sex couples raising kids, either their biological kids or kids they have adopted.
Couple who have kids together but don’t want to get married.
Grandparents raising their grandkids.
(4) Some interesting stats from their survey:
64% of those surveyed said that they disagree with the statement that “Raising children is the primary purpose of marriage.”
30% think parents should stay together for the sake of the kids.
54% feel single parenthood has a negative effect on maintaining a “stable family life”. 28 % of American kids live in single-parent homes.
70% felt marriage was less important to a couple than it was 10 years ago.
As you can see the definition of “family” has changed and will continue to change. The article highlights several types as listed above but many more exist. The bottom line is there is no such thing as a “normal” family anymore.
See also:
Becoming A Mid-Life Mom To Your Grandchild, Part One
Becoming A Mid-Life Mom To Your Grandchild, Part Two