The fantasy of the nuclear family is holding us back

Cameroonian Christine Banlog, 64, has been raising her three grandchildren by herself since her daughter's death in 2011. Banlog's day starts with the early rush to buy wholesale produce that she can sell in the local market. When the market closes at 3 p.m., Banlog doesn't stop. She sets up a small stand near her home to sell whatever's left. "I use the income to pay school fees, even though it's very difficult. Money is not enough," she says. At the end of every long day, Banlog goes home to cook dinner.

Banlog's family configuration is not the conventional one that we so often see in the media and movies -- a husband, his wife and children. It's not the standard "nuclear" model that many decision-makers have in mind when they are formulating policies to support family life. But look around, and you will see that our societies and cultures are made up of a spectrum of family forms.

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