Skip to content
For Your Marriage

Family Life and Parenting

Family Dynamics

Since everyone comes from a family, marriage brings together not only husband and wife, but also brothers, sisters, in-laws, and extended family members. These new relationships can bring joy and a rich sense of belonging to a couple, but they can also be challenging to navigate at times. In addition, it’s important for spouses to recognize how their family of origin affects their assumptions, behaviors, and values, in order to best relate to one’s spouse who may have had a very different upbringing.

Daily Marriage Tip

Reader’s tip: We’ve been married for 43 years. We have a rule: always kiss each other goodbye and goodnight, even if we are angry. One morning we had an argument and my husband left. I called him and told him to come right back and give me a kiss. He did! We both had a better day because of it.