Nuclear and extended families A husband and wife and their children are called a nuclear family.It may include grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins.5s This is the typical family unit in most Western countries.In many other parts of the world, however, it is more typical for the extended family to live together in one household.In cultures where the nuclear family is the typical unit, children usually leave home in their early twenties, often before they get married.Increasingly, young people are moving back to their parents' homes after they graduate from college.This is more common in cultures in which

marriage is considered a union between two families rather than just 60 two people.Frequently, they leave home when they go to college.Sometimes even older adult children move back in with their parents if they lose their jobs or cannot afford to pay for their own homes.These adults are sometimes called boomerang children because they leave home for a while, but 10 then they return.Recently, there has been a shift in this behavior.This is one more example of how the structure of families changes as society changes.