Today's (0) FAMILIES (FAMILY) are extremely varied, and the old picture of two 1PARENT with their children in a suburban house is only one of many. The 2TRADITION family is still common, of course, but single-parent households, blended families and households of three 3GENERATE under one roof are increasingly normal. 4CHILD itself has changed: children often have close relationships with step-parents, grandparents and half-siblings as well as their biological parents. 5DIFFER in background and values between family members are easier to handle now than they once were, although they still cause difficulties from time to time. What matters most, sociologists suggest, is the quality of 6RELATE inside the home rather than the particular shape of the family. A 7SUPPORT environment is the best predictor of children's 8HAPPY and later success, whichever version of the modern family they happen to grow up in.