We Are Family

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Factual: Families & Relationships

Suzanne Packer explores why multigenerational living is getting more popular in Wales.

BBC Radio Wales Extra

We Are Family: Raising Kids But Not Raising Voices

Raising Kids But Not Raising Voices

BBC Radio Wales - We Are Family, Raising Kids But Not Raising Voices

How can you live happily with your in-laws?  Suzanne Packer gets advice from those who know in her series on multigenerational households.

The number of households with at least two adult generations living together under one roof has grown rapidly over the past decade.  In the UK two-thirds of all single people aged between 20 and 34 are back living with mum or dad – or they haven’t ever left home.  And multigenerational households where grandchildren are living with two adult generations are also very popular.
 
It’s down to a combination of precarious job market conditions, low wages, high rents, rising house prices and life shocks such as relationship breakups – and there’s an X factor too: people really do seem to enjoy multigenerational living. 
 
In We Are Family Suzanne Packer explores this different and very special version of family life.  It’s the stuff of traditional sitcom and those wretched mother-in-law jokes – but the reality is more subtle and more joyous. We will hear about what makes it both sensible and special.   And we’ll hear from people with some sound advice on how to avoid it all going horribly wrong. 
 
In Episode 2, we meet an all-female household and a Cardiff couple who have invited their daughter and her family to live with them so they could save for their own home.  We also hear more from all our families on the things that can go wrong when you share your home – and how to avoid them.  There’s advice from an architect on how to make your home work for a multigenerational household, and Suzanne finds out why our houses are actually getting smaller.

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