They incorporate their children's peers into family activities. The problem-solve together. They treat dialogue and collaboration as priorities They have a spiritual base and encourage their children to contribute in meaningful ways to relevant institutions and the community in general. They teach discipline by coaching with firmness, dignity and respect. We hear the statement above all the time.
Most families function.
They just may not be functioning in all ways according to the ideal of certain best-selling authors. Nor does any family affect any two members the same way. We are having the experiences we are having because of the way we are currently responding to issues from our family. What's important about this knowledge is that we can choose to respond to those issues in ways that make us feel good or at peace with ourselves. In other words, if our learned responses to unsettling family issues have not made us feel good in the past, we can learn different responses that will make us feel better in the future.