Fiona a is h £t Jo Tomlinson

Track 26
Lecturer: 
We are a ll fa m ilia r w ith the n uclea r fam ily, w hich has been the d om inant fa m ily s tru c tu re in the UK 
fo r the last sixty years at least. However, recent changes show th a t o ur idea of the tra d itio n a l nuclear 
fa m ily as the cornerstone of B ritis h fa m ily life is changing. There have been em erging patterns w hich 
are eroding th is s tru c tu re ; namely, the rise of ste p -fa m ilie s , cohabitation, lon e-p aren ting , and the 
rapid increase in those living alone. We are going to explore these areas in tu rn , and look at th e ir 
effect in te rm s of the family.
Firstly, s te p -fa m ilie s are becom ing m ore and m ore com m on. S te p -fa m ilie s are created w hen one 
o r both p a rtn e rs have a child or ch ildren fro m a previous relationship. In 1980 the percentage of 
children under th irte e n who w ere living w ith one parent and th e ir new p a rtn e r was ju s t fo u r per cent. 
In 2008, th is fig ure had increased to tw enty per cent. The USA has seen an even g re ate r rise; new 
sta tis tic s show th a t a lm ost h alf of under th irte e n s are living in a ste p -fa m ily . Now, we can s till ca ll the 
ste p -fa m ily s tru c tu re a 'n u c le a r' fam ily, as it does fo llo w the s tru c tu re of tw o parents, and dependent 
children. However, it also creates som ew hat of a nuclea r 'b lu r'. S tep -b ro th ers and siste rs may belong 
to tw o fa m ily units, so w here do we draw the line at w hich fa m ily they belong to?
Audio scripts 
1 1 1

---

Track 27
Sally:
Father:
Sally:
Father:
Sally:
Father:
Sally:
Father:
Sally:
Father:
Sally:
Track 28