2013年ESL之就医和人际交往 14 Types of Families

（单词翻译）

Types of Families 

Patricia: Okay, we’re nearly done setting up for the neighborhood party. I got some nametags with “father,” “mother,” and “kids” printed on them, with a space for people to write their names. It’ll be easier for people to introduce themselves and make friends. 

Ed: The nametags are a good idea, but we have to keep in mind that in this day and age, there are a lot of unconventional families. We won’t just have nuclear or traditional families coming. 

Patricia: I don’t see how that makes a difference. 

Ed: Don’t you? What if we have same-sex families? We need to be ready to hand out two “father” or two “mother” nametags. There are also a lot of stepfamilies with more than one set of parents. 

Patricia: Well, the men are all “fathers” and the “women” are all mothers – that’s simple. I still don’t see the problem. 

Ed: What if the children are being raised by grandparents? Some of the men could be grandfathers and some of the women grandmothers. 

Patricia: Okay, we might have some of those families. 

Ed: And don’t forget that some parents are divorced or are single parents. Their current partner may not be their spouse¹. It wouldn’t be appropriate to give them “father” or “mother” nametags. We might even get foster families, in which case, the nametags may not be applicable at all. 

Patricia: I give up. Forget I ever brought up these nametags. I’ll get blank ones with nothing on them. 

Ed: That’s a good idea. Given the complexity² we live in today, choosing simplicity³ might be the way to go! 

Script by Dr. Lucy Tse