The birth of a baby is the birth of a new family. We need to be able to depend on our intimate relationships for emotional support.
Healthy families serve as a nest for our human growth and development.
Our families impact the very quality of life, including who we are and who we will become. What we can learn from the past forty years of research on family structures, styles, rules and communication, can help us create a healthy family system capable of adjusting to the ever changing needs of its members. In a healthy family there is no question as to who is parent and who is child. This is true whether your child is fourteen or two, though naturally responsibilities change as your child grows. In healthy families, no parent feels as though they must disclaim their adult power, and children don't feel called upon to assume premature adult responsibility.