Children's experiences of family life are increasingly diverse. A growing number of children are born or grow up with parents who cohabit informally, with rights to benefits and social protection that are different from those for children with married parents. In addition, family reconstitution after family breakup is becoming more frequent, and patterns of family reconstitution today are more heterogeneous than they were only a few years ago. Living arrangements after parental separation can also be rather complex, and many children live in a family environment that changes - often more than once - as they grow up.
It is important for policy to ensure that children are adequately protected against changes in family living arrangements that can affect various aspects of their economic situation and other aspects of well-being. However, tax/benefit systems do not treat all family living arrangements in the same way. Most countries have particular family policies to provide support to single-parent families. In addition, OECD countries have adapted legal frameworks to cover "new" family arrangements, albeit to various degrees. However, in many countries, the tax/benefit systems need to be further adapted to the increasingly heterogeneous family living arrangements so that all children are treated equally.