Traditional Mothering Sunday greetings will have taken place in Birmingham in some very unconventional family environments.
If you could use an equation to find the perfect family unit, it is quite possible that the figure 2.4 would be included.
In fact the usual factors that contribute to a supportive family atmosphere have shifted massively in recent years and this is being reflected in the variety of families who are foster carers throughout the Midlands.
Elrose Lyndsey is a single mother-of-three from Birmingham who has fostered six children since 2005.
Ms Lyndsey currently fosters two siblings - a seven-year-old and eight-year-old brother and sister - while raising her own three children.
The 42-year-old moved to the Midlands after her home in Montserrat was completely destroyed by a volcano. Due to its UK colony status, she was able to travel to Britain to set up home and begin a new career.
Ms Lyndsey soon found work in various administrative roles before deciding to retrain as a foster carer, taking an NVQ in childcare and education. But her decision has brought some highlytraumatised children to her door as a result.
One of her foster children is a girl called Abena (not her real name) from the Democratic Republic of the Congo who saw her mother and father taken away at gunpoint when she was just 14.
Abena has not heard from or seen her parents since that day and fears they may both be dead.
Mrs Lyndsey said: "Fostering is challenging - especially when you're trying to help someone like Abena who has witnessed such horrors at a young age.
"It is demanding with its ups and downs like any family life and it's not a career for everyone but for the right person it can be the most rewarding job in the world. Just to see Abena smile again is worth all the money in the world.
"To be a good foster carer you have to be patient, tolerant and non-judgmental. Foster children are often unfairly labelled as troublesome but that's an over-simplistic view.
"I think society is becoming more tolerant of less-traditional families and, while the situation may not be ideal, people are realising that children can still be brought up in loving, caring households which don't conform to the norm."
The Fostering Network estimates it needs a further 1,100 foster carers across the East and West Midlands, on top of the 70,000 carers it already employs nationwide.
Jackie Edwards, Midlands director of Pathway Care, one of the UK's leading independent fostering agencies, said: "The traditional family unit has altered considerably since our parents were children.
"Many of the families that become our most regular and valued foster carers are made up of various combinations of relationships."
Ms Lyndsey added: "While my family unit is more unusual than most, we still celebrate Mother's Day like most families and the children always give me hand-made cards, which really means a lot to me."
