27 Choose one of the headlines and write a similar post about your family. Use as many of the green expressions as possible. Blank out some of the expressions from the text you’ve written and give it to a partner to fill in. 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 does it mean when someone says a child ‘does well’? How can this be measured? Discuss your ideas and compare them with another pair. Read the article. What is the author’s opinion? How does she support it? WRITING + LANGUAGE 8 a b SPEAKING 9a b READING 10a Go through the article again. What factors does the author mention that can have a positive or negative impact on a child’s life? What other factors can you think of that can affect 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 Children do just as well in ‘new family structures’ as in the traditional family By Susan Golombok For a long time, it was believed that the traditional two-parent family, with a married heterosexual mum and dad and biologically related children, was important for the well-being of children. As a result, ‘non-traditional’ variants of this family structure, such as single-parent families or stepfamilies, were often seen as second-best. More recent variations, known as ‘new family forms’, involving same-sex parents and families created through reproductive technologies, have also been stigmatised. However, research on these more modern family structures supports them as being equivalent to the traditional family model. 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 others. 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. 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 these families have long known – the kids are typically doing fine. a blended family b childfree family c extended family d nuclear family e family with same-sex parents f single-parent family g stepfamily h traditional family i co-parenting family Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv
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