Bang goes the nuclear family: 80% say they don’t fit the ‘norm’

The majority of people feel their family is unrepresented by politicians, the media and advertising, with 52 per cent claiming the government does not take their family set-up into account, according to the research from the Centre for the Modern Family, a new think-tank launched by Scottish Widows. Only 16 per cent of people in the survey define themselves as part of a “traditional” family. Instead, the findings – based on in-depth interviews with 3,000 adults – indicate family structures are becoming increasingly diverse, with a quarter of all couples being childless and one in five people living alone. Kati Waitzmann, a storyteller from Prestwick, Ayrshire, who has lived with her partner, Tom Bennett, and her daughters Emma, 12, and Hannah, nine, for the past year, said she was not surprised at the diversity of what now made up families in Britain. She said she believes people think her family may resemble the “traditional” set-up. “But what they don’t see is that the two girls are not my partner’s children,” she said. “They are mine, and he is their step-father.” She added: “Society is changing but families like mine are not often shown on television.” Britons are increasingly likely to describe single-parent, same-sex, or unmarried couples as “proper” families, the study showed. Some 57 per cent of people no longer believe that a couple with children have to be married to be “a family”. Almost eight out of ten people believe that single parents can be a proper family, and 59 per cent believe that same-sex couples can be a family. However, a significant minority of people disagreed with these views. More than a third – 34 per cent – think that a couple should be married to be a family, while 29 per cent believe that same-sex couples are not a proper family and almost one in five (17 per cent) feels that single parents are not a proper family. Professor Tanya Byron, a psychologist and a member of the centre’s panel of experts, said: “Family is the spine of society. Everyone comes from a family, everyone has an opinion on family, and without this vital support network many of us would simply break. “At a time of continued social change and as the financial squeeze on families gets even tighter, the Centre for the Modern Family aims to improve understanding, and ultimately strengthen families in all their varied forms across the country.” John Dickie, head of the Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland, said: “Too often any deviation from traditional family structure is blamed for high levels of child poverty and other social ills, but this research shows that there is no excuse for such lazy thinking.” Nadine O’Connor, campaign director for pressure group Fathers 4 Justice, said the legal interpretation of the “family” failed to reflect changes in society. Ms O’Connor said: “It is always encouraging to see new research on the family and society, but sadly this and previous governments have a dreadful record of respecting ‘families’ in whatever format they take. “With one in three children growing up without a father [at home] the ‘traditional’ family unit of mum and dad and 2.4 children is sadly out-dated.”