Families with Children

This report analyses families in the UK by the number of dependent children they have, with a particular focus on those with three or more dependent children. It examines trends over time, where such families live and their economic activity.

This report analyses the characteristics of people who are cohabiting with a partner.

The ONS publishes estimates of families and households using the Labour Force Survey between ten yearly censuses. The LFS has been chosen as the preferred source of estimates on these topics due to its large sample size, long time series and timeliness, and because it provides estimates on a consistent basis for the whole UK. However the LFS is not the only source of data on families and households. This document provides a brief guide to the LFS and to alternative sources of data on this topic.

This article examines changes between 1984 and 2007 in the demographic and socio-economic circumstances of British men and women in mid-life. Changing living arrangements in mid-life reflect historical changes in the occurrence and timing of life events such as marriage and parenthood, as well as increased longevity. In order to place mid-life in this wider demographic context, the article first reviews changes over time in kin availability across the adult life course using the British Household Panel Survey (2001) and Understanding Society (2009). The article goes on to use data from the General Household Survey (1984–2007) to document shifts over time in living arrangements for those aged 20–79. In the final part of the article we focus specifically on those aged between 45 and 64 and examine how their characteristics in terms of marital status, educational attainment, activity status and housing tenure have changed over the past quarter century.

No. 142, Winter 2010

Population Trends - No. 139, Spring 2010 Households and families: Implications of changing census definitions for analyses using the ONS Longitudinal Study

A map showing stepfamilies with dependent children by local authority in the UK in 2001. For further information, please contact families@ons.gsi.gov.uk.

Focus on Families looks at family types and explores similarities and differences between them. It also draws on demographic information to look at the many dimensions of families in the UK today. Focus on Families consists of the following sections: Families, Households, Dependent Children, Stepfamilies, Age Distribution, Geographic Distribution, Ethnicity, Religion. For further information, please contact families@ons.gov.uk.