Extended families

Ross et al

Suggested that intergenerational ties were stronger than ever now with grandparents and grandparents valuing each other and seeing each other regularly

O'brien and Jones

found that an importance was still attached to kinship. In their study 72% of respondents had been visited by a relative in the past week, and 22% had a large network of local kin.

Phillipson and Downs

found that grandchildren visit their elderly relatives on a regular basis-particularly important for teenagers.

Brannen

Beanpole families have strong links between generations. Vertical intergenerational ties is very common now with middle aged women being kinship carers for elderly relatives and grandchild. This is the result of an ageing population and a lower birth rate creating a long thin structure.

This also allows for childcare as we increasingly become dual income households

Wilmott

argued that contact with kin is important for the middle and working class, despite the distance 2/3 of couples saw relatives at least weekly. The dispersed extended family is becoming dominant in Britain. This refers to kin who are geographically dispersed but continue to maintain regular contact through technology, cars, telephone and internet