Child Vulnerability Within the Complexity of the Family

Over time, the family as a social institution has undergone significant changes, resulting in more intricate structures and relationships, which unveil both new and pre-existing vulnerabilities affecting children. When determining if a group of individuals forms a family, what are the key considerations for children, and how do they discuss their experiences within a blended family and conceptualise a family as a network? What do children say about living in two homes based on the visiting order of the separated or divorced mother’s and father’s residences? This chapter provides a brief overview of change in the family and examines children’s perspectives on various family arrangements and relationships as potential sources of vulnerability. It draws data from a variety of small-scale quantitative and qualitative studies conducted with children in Estonia.