…Traditionally, these units consist of a mother, father and their children. However, families take many forms in today's contemporary society. Alternative families are families that break from this tradition and can include gay and lesbian parents who choose to raise children. Extended families include more distant relatives such as aunts, uncles, cousins and so-on. An emerging term in contemporary culture is what is becoming known as "chosen families". In today's fractured society, close-knit groups of friends and associates often refer to themselves as "chosen family" to signify their bonds are closer than average friends. This term can also be used to describe adoptive families and foster homes.

Everyone can have problems with the family living next door every now and then, but when these animosities reach another level, they are called family feuds. The most infamous family feud in American history may be that between the Hatfield and McCoy families. These neighbors, atop opposite mountains in rural West Virginia, had a lasting rivalry that resulted in bloodshed on more than one occasion.

Genealogy, or the study of one's family history, is a an increasingly popular hobby for many people. In the United States, where a majority of the population is descended from immigrants, the practice of following the family tree has become quite widespread. Family trees can branch across continents and have inspired many a family vacation to an ancestral homeland in search of records, gravestones and coffee with distant cousins.