When society imagines the perfect family, the nuclear family is the first to be raised. However, the nuclear family form was never the type of family that described our family systems in the past. Is your family becoming more diverse? Yes, it's changing; becoming more complex than before. The family is thought to have transformed dramatically over the years. History shows that there have always been different combinations of age, ethnicity and class that have made families varied and multifaceted. The nuclear family consists of father, mother and children, and although it is now the popular form of family, it was rare to have that type of family. now the family is varied differently, the new complex nuclear family structure includes single-person families, gay families and cohabiting families. These changes in the family system can show threats to the traditional family or they can show the growth of our society. This essay will show how the family has become more diverse in our society. The explanation given by sociologists to this phenomenon will also be described. The nuclear home was the traditional example of a family. “In 1986, 7% of families confirmed having the structure of a father, a housewife and children (Stacey, 1996:133). This type of family usually relies on itself and is more isolated from the extended family. Family members support each other without the influence of outside help such as grandparents, uncles and aunts. This form of family has changed over the years and the new complex forms of family are similar to the traditional nuclear family. The single-parent family, also known as a single-parent family, is becoming an important part of our society. Single-parent families usually consist of d...... middle of paper... rates in Western countries and this affects the age and aging of the population. Therborn linked this to the demographic transition. The demographic transition means that people have two or three children and this phenomenon becomes normal. In history, couples who had many children were seen as the norm, but now couples who only have two or three children are seen as normal. The family has become diverse over the years, especially in Western countries. In Western countries we have moved from extended families, families that included servants, to more nuclear versions of the family. Different types of family systems are coming into play such as single families, single-parent families, civil unions, reconstituted families and cohabiting families. These types of families continue to grow and change in the future may be different from the type of families we have now.