what is nuclear family

A nuclear family is a family group consisting of parents and their children, typically living in one home residence. It is in contrast to a single-parent family, a larger extended family, or a family with more than two parents. The term "nuclear family" is also known as an elementary family, atomic family, or conjugal family. It typically centers on a married couple, which may have any number of children, and can include biological, adopted, half- and step- siblings. The traditional definition of a nuclear family includes two married parents of opposite genders and their biological or adopted children living in the same residence. However, the definition of the nuclear family is evolving to be more inclusive of different family structures, including same-sex parents and their children