Family members...

Ok, today I will talk about the changes that are happening with families in the West. You should all know the basic family vocabulary:

1. mother
2. father
3. brother
4. sister
5. uncle
6. aunt
7. cousin
8. grandfather
9. grandmother

Those are the words you need to know and cover most people's families. Recently, families have become more complicated due to rising rates of divorce and 2nd marriages. Also, adoption has become more common.

Adoption, is when your biological parents (biological mother, biological father) can't take care of you and so they give you to the government or an adoption agency. Then the adoption agency finds you a new family. This new family then becomes your adoptive family(adoptive mother, adoptive father, etc.).

Next we have the term "step-something", this means that you are not biologically related but that you are related through your parent's marriage. Think of Cinderella with her wicked step-mother and step-sisters.

For example; your parents have gotten divorced and the your mother remarries. Her new husband will become your step-father. If he has a family from a previous marriage you will have some step-brothers and/or step-sisters. In the past, people usually got remarried because their spouse(husband or wife) died. After a period of mourning, they would often get remarried.

Now, if your step-father and your mother (or your step-mother and father) have children together these will become your half-brothers and/or half-sisters. They are half- because you share one biological parent.

The next category are in-laws. This is your spouse's family. So your wife/husband's sister is your sister-in-law. Your spouse's father is your father-in-law and mother is your mother-in-law. We call them in-laws because you are related through a legal agreement but not biologically.

Wow, lots of vocabulary today! If you have any questions just ask,

Phil