way2go! 7. Coursebook, Schulbuch

27 Go through the article again. What factors does the author mention that can impact a child’s life in a positive or negative way? Can you think of any other factors that might influence a child’s life? Expand your vocabulary: Types of family Which types of family below are mentioned in the article? Underline them. b LANGUAGE 11 a Write a short definition of all types of family listed in the box above. b You are going to read an article on changing family structures. First, work with a partner and look at the headline only. What could ‘new family structures’ be? What is a ‘traditional family’? Read the headline again. What is meant when someone says that a child ‘does well’? How do you measure this? Discuss some ideas you have and compare them with another pair. Read the article. What is the author’s opinion? How does she support it? SPEAKING 9 a b READING 10 a Children do just as well in ‘new family structures’ as in the traditional family by Susan Golombok For a long time, people believed that the traditional two-parent family with married heterosexual mum and dad and biologically related children was important for the well- being of children. So ‘non-traditional’ variants of this family structure, be they, for example, single-parent families or stepfamilies, took second place, at best. More recent variations, known as ‘new family forms’, involving same-sex parents and families created by reproductive technologies, have also been stigmatised. However, research on these more modern family forms supports them as equivalent to the traditional family structure. The research on new family forms gathered over the last 35 years has shown that children in these families do just as well as children raised in traditional families. The evidence also reveals that boys are no less ‘masculine’ in terms of identity and behaviour, and girls are no less ‘feminine’, when they grow up with single parents or with same-sex parents. To some, these findings will hardly be surprising. Children in these new family forms are typically very wanted children with dedicated parents. They are not born casually. Some studies even find more positive relationships in these partnerships than in traditional families. I am not saying that children in new family forms always do well. The research simply shows that they are just as likely to do well or have problems as children in traditional families, depending on factors such as the quality of parenting, the children’s own personal characteristics and, importantly, the social environment in which they are raised. That includes society’s attitudes towards the family. Society’s prejudice and stigmatisation can harm these children – even though there is actually nothing in their families that puts them at risk. Research on new family forms contradicts conventional wisdoms and prejudice, confirming what many parents in those families have long known – the kids are typically doing fine. a blended family b childless family c extended family d nuclear family e family of same-sex parents f single-parent family g stepfamily h traditional family Nur zu Prüfzweck n – Eigentum des Verlags öbv