The Changing Family Structure

It seems as if when I was in elementary school everyone I knew had the same type of family I had. That is, all my friends had a normal family with both parents at home and siblings with the same last name. My aunt was divorced and raising her family alone, but I didn't know of any other families like that. Now however, I see students who come from all different types of families, not just single parent families.
I find it interesting that these days, it is inappropriate to tell your students to have them tell their parents something. Instead, you need to tell them to tell their guardian or whoever they live with. Students today come from all sorts of families and situations. Not only do we need to be careful when we tell our students to tell their guardian something, we also need to be aware when we read stories, have discussions, or show pictures about anything that has to deal with family life. The only way to incorporate each different family is to talk about them. However, I find it difficult to see myself discussing gay/lesbian parents with any student of mine. I guess the topic could just be avoided unless specifically brought up.