ABSTRACT
Until recently, there has been little research interest in the significance of wider kin to children (see Hill and Tisdall 1997 for a brief review). By contrast, children’s peer relations have received more consideration (Berndt 1986; James 1993; Hill and Tisdall 1997). Only a few studies have focused upon the full range of persons children consider to be important to them. As Morrow (1998) has recently documented in her study of children’s views of families, children included a wide spread of significant others which covered a range of kin beyond the nuclear family unit, especially grandparents and aunts, uncles and cousins (Morrow 1998).
