British and American
families are small. In fact the populations of both Britain
and the USA
have stopped growing. The typical family has a father, mother and two children.
Grandparents come to visit, but do not usually live with their children. Most people get married between the ages of
20 and 23 but many marriages end in divorce. This means that both countries
have a large number of "single parent families", one father or mother
looking after their children alone. The
typical British family has a car, a colour TV set, a washing machine, and a cat
or dog as well. They start the day at about 7 o'clock, have breakfast at 8 and
are off to work by 8.30. More and more women now go out to work as well as men.
The children have lunch at school at about 12.30, and come home at 4 in the afternoon. Their
parents are usually home by 6 o'clock, and the family eats together at 6.30 or 7. In the evenings, father
may go to the pub for a drink, or stay at home and watch TV with the others. Children
go to bed early, at about 8 o'clock, two or three hours before their
parents. The typical American family has
more money than a British family. Many have two or three cars, large modern
kitchens and more electrical goods. They eat more meat and spend more on
clothes. But their daily programme is nearly the same. Like British children,
American children eat lunch at school, come home mid-afternoon, and go to bed
earlier than their parents
gemi 
mirona 