"Everyone belongs to a family and many of us have strong opinions about families should be like. An authoritative, definitive demographic history of the New Zealand family since 1840, this book is not merely a collection of statistics but interprets the changing story of the family and its makeup, its members and its impact at a time when opinions on this ancient institution range from nostalgia to shock to puzzlement. Using detailed and groundbreaking research spanning 165 years, the authors chart the move from the large family of the nineteenth century to the post-war Baby Boom, Bust, Blip and Deficit, the recent increase in family diversity and the modern trend towards unsustainably small families. In turn, this analysis of the 'building blocks' of society helps trace the changing attitudes and structure of society itself. In its account of the transitions in New Zealand, The New Zealand Family From 1840 provides vivid insights into the past but even more importantly suggests challenging implications for the future."--BOOK JACKET.