Tostoy said ” all happy families resemble one another. Unhappy families an all unhappy in there own way.” a deep truth. But what makes a happy/healthy family? Only 12% of families in America now have the traditional structure of a working father and a stay at home mom. The rest are set up differently. The goals are always the same.
A family forms to nurture and protect offspring, with the eventual goal that they will leave home and become independent. Parents role is to protect and guide children to the point they can survive on their own. Each family has it’s own origin, history and future after the last child leaves home, and the best families offer a safe harbor and extended network into the adulthood of grown children. Families are easiest to run with two committed caregivers in a committed relationship, but this is not the only model. These goals, the best interest of raising and protecting children, overide all others.
Again families take many forms and functions and Susan and I will be exploring them in our new book coming out soon!