non-traditional families
Alternative family structures
Non-traditional families are family structures that differ from the conventional model of two married heterosexual parents and their biological children.
The term encompasses single-parent households, blended families, same-sex parents, unmarried partners raising children, grandparents as primary caregivers, and other arrangements: Many schools now acknowledge non-traditional families in their policies.
The phrase itself carries a normative tinge—it defines by what families are not.
- foster care systemTemporary guardianship for displaced children
- stepfamilyHousehold joined by remarriage
- kinship careRelatives raising displaced children
- intentional communityPlanned values-based residential collective
- multigenerational homeDwelling housing multiple age groups
traditional, tradition, family, families, familial, familiar, familiarity, familiarly, unfamiliar