Celebrating the Changing Face of the Family

*Celebrating the Changing Face of the Family. This is a featured guest post

Nothing beats quality time spent in the company of your family, whether that’s enjoying a day out at a theme park, relaxing in front of a movie, or just enjoying evening dinner together. Unfortunately, with spare time becoming ever tougher to find, it’s more important than ever to prioritize your family – which is just one of the values than an annual event, National Family Week, aims to promote.

Celebrating the Changing Face of the Family

Taking place this year between 27th May and 2nd June, National Family Week is the largest celebration of families and their lives in the UK, with hundreds of events taking place across the country that bring families together for a much-needed bit of fun. However, what National Family Week also endorses is that families themselves are changing and evolving and that today’s ‘traditional family’ is not so traditional after all!

Indeed, recent statistics prove that modern families really do come in all shapes and sizes. Figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that in 2012, almost two million families out of 18.2 million in the UK consisted of a single parent, which is a significant rise from 1.6 million single-parent families in 1996.

The Flux of Families

What’s more, the number of opposite-sex cohabiting couples with children has also increased, from 1.5 million in 1996 to 2.9 million in 2012, which constitutes 38% of all couples of this type. Clearly, a decreasing number of couples are considering marriage to be essential to a happy household, as 39% of couples with children were married – that’s only 1% more than the total of couples with children that chose not to tie the knot!

Another unsurprising, yet wonderful statistic from the Office for National Statistics was that in 2012, there were 8,000 same-sex couples with children in the UK. Therefore, it’s clear that the stereotype of the traditional family is now nothing more than a myth, which makes National Family Week more important than ever – as no matter what type of family you have, they are always something to celebrate.

So during National Family Week, make time for your own family, and let them know just how much they’re appreciated. Whether you enjoy a big day out with your children, or just send thoughtful greetings cards from Hallmark to faraway family members to remind them that you care, don’t forget to make your family feel as special as they truly are!