Non-traditional means not following the old, usual way — different from how something typically happened in the past, or from what a group still treats as the normal pattern. People use it for families that do not match the old mother-father-children picture, for students who go back to school later in life, and for jobs, medicine, weddings, teaching methods, and food. It is a polite, slightly official-sounding word: it names a difference without having to say “strange.” Though actually, what counts as traditional depends on which past and which people you have in mind. A “non-traditional career” in one country is ordinary in another, and older and younger people often disagree about the line. The word also does not tell you if the new way is better, worse, or just different — though speakers sometimes use it with a smile (fresh, open) or with a frown (not proper), so listen for the tone.