FAMILY PATTERNS

NUCLEAR FAMILY: Married couple that has kids – this is seen as the “Traditional” family.

FAMILY STRUCTURES: There are various types of family that exist in today’s society, some of
the more common structures include:

 The Nuclear family: this usually consists of two generations of family, parents and their
own or adopted children residing in the same household. A family consisting of two
parents and their children, but not including aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc.
 FIRST DEGREE RELATIVE: A spouse, parent, sibling, or child. ●He was a first degree
relative, so it was a lot harder to say bye to him because I liked him more than my
other relatives.
 IMMEDIATE FAMILY: can include parents, children, spouses, and grandparents.
 EXTENDED FAMILY: Several generations living together – more than just mom, dad,
kids… could include grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins… Could also be another they
– single, blended, dual career etc…
An extended family is a family that extends beyond the nuclear family, consisting of
parents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, all living nearby or in the same household.

SINGLE-PARENT FAMILIES: This type of family is algo known as the Lone Parent Family. It
consists of one parent and a child or children residing in one household.

STEPFAMILY: A stepfamily or blended family is a family where at least one parent has children
that are not genetically related to the other spouse or partner

Same-sex marriage - two people of the same sex who live together as a family.

GLOSSARY

 FULL-BLOOD SIBLING: You have the same biological mother and father.
 BIOLOGICAL PARENT: A parent who has had rather than adopted a child and whose
genes are therefore transmitted to the child.
 HALF-BROTHER/STEP BROTHER "Half-" is blood and "step-" is legal.
 HALF-BROTHER: A half-brother is your brother with one common biological parent
(your father or mother).
 STEP-BROTHER A stepbrother is unrelated to you by blood. A stepbrother is someone
who became your 'brother' as a result of your parent (father or mother) marrying
someone else.