Final answer:
Approximately 54% of the three million children not living with biological or adoptive parents are raised by grandparents, symbolizing the evolution of the traditional family structure to include various extended family arrangements.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the United States, a significant number of children are being raised by their grandparents. aapproximately 54 percent of the three million children who live with guardians that are neither their biological nor adoptive parents are being raised by grandparents. Furthermore, in nearly half of these cases, the grandparent has the primary responsibility for the child.
This shift in family dynamics is a result of various factors including parental drug abuse, incarceration, or abandonment, rendering the parent incapable of caring for their child. Multigenerational households, which may have reached a low point around 1980, have been on the rise since then. By 2016, 20 percent of the U.S. population lived in such households. The restructuring of what constitutes a family in contemporary society has broadened to include single parents, unmarried couples, same-sex couples, and extended family arrangements, which can involve grandparents, cousins, or adult children living together. The modern family has thus evolved considerably from the traditional nuclear family that was prevalent in past decades. Grandparents stepping in as primary caregivers is a reflection of this ongoing change in family structure and societal norms.