This growing area of Young Foundation work draws on Michael Young's work, including his report on Family and Kinship in East London and the creation of Grandparents Plus.

Our focus is on exploring the reality of lives for families, taking account of the enormous range of circumstances and life choices that determine family life.

• We have carried out research into the experience of young parents in Lewisham: ‘Meet the parents' which was based on an ethnographic study of the lives of teenage parents.

• As part of our wellbeing project, we explored the relationship between parenting and wellbeing. The report concludes that in spite of the vast increase in investment in family support in the last decade, too few services prioritise the wellbeing of parents as well as children.

• We also worked with local government - in Knowsley and other locations - to explore different approaches to supporting challenging families, as part of our Recovery Network.