Give some examples of how the typical American family is changing.

Changing as in currently changing?

Well, for one, we're seeing the dissipation of the nuclear family. The nuclear family is considered the "perfect American family", despite there being a lack of perfection in any kind of family. It is made up of a father, a mother, and children. What we see now is an increase in single-parent households, less heterosexual married couples having children, and more homosexual marriages and children from those marriages through alternative birth methods.

The range of variation in "families" throughout history and across cultures is enormous. Nevertheless, there are certain major themes within all this variation: Families are a set of primary relationships - biological, emotional, social, economic, and legal.

Families are also a collection of individuals with differing needs and concerns living in complicated relationships with each other and with society. Families generally are expected to provide their members mutual economic, physical, and emotional support, meeting the human needs for food, shelter, and intimacy.

Families also carry on tradition and culture and, in some instances, pass on property to the next generation.