I say homes are for families, and you have to make sure you design for the family, not just one person: kids, your wife, your grandparents need to be able to use it.

“A lot of families here are extended families and they work together to provide care. When it's left to just one member of the family, though, that's a lot … in many cases, the person needs care 24 hours a day, so (the caregiver's) sleep schedule is erratic, and they hardly have time to bathe or eat.”

“A lot of families here are extended families and they work together to provide care. When it's left to just one member of the family, though, that's a lot ... in many cases, the person needs care 24 hours a day, so (the caregiver's) sleep schedule is erratic, and they hardly have time to bathe or eat.”

“Angel was the epitome of style and grace. She had a wonderful sense of humor, a giving spirit and placed a strong value on loving her family and friends. The most important thing I want people to know is that Angel came from a very loving family that extended beyond the reaches of her immediate family.”

“The development of alcoholism among individuals with a family history of alcoholism is about four to eight times more common than it is among individuals with no such family history. Although the definition of 'family history' is different according to different researchers, we define it as when either or both of the person's parents have had an alcohol problem.”

I wasn't going to be an actor. I was going to be a lawyer. I came from a family just above working class, just below middle class, a great family of wonderful values. The idea of me having a chance for a law degree was enticing. Enticing to me but also very enticing to my family.

Kaysen elaborates through parts of the book on her thoughts about how mental illness is treated. She explains that families who are willing to pay the rather high costs of hospitalization do so to prove their own sanity. Once one member of the family is hospitalized, it becomes easier for the rest of the family to distance themselves from the problem and to create a clear boundary between the sane and the insane. Recognizing a family member or friend as insane makes others around them, says Kaysen, compare themselves to that individual. Hospitalization allows for distance from this questioning of self that makes us so uncomfortable. Her view that mental illness often includes the entire family means the hospitalized family member becomes an excuse for other family members not to look at their own problems. This explains the willingness to pay the high financial costs of hospitalization.

Sexual abuse is also a secret crime, one that usually has no witness. Shame and secrecy keep a child from talking to siblings about the abuse, even if all the children in a family are being sexually assaulted. In contrast, if a child is physically or emotionally abused, the abuse is likely to occur in front of the other children in the family, at least some of the time. The physical and emotional abuse becomes part of the family's explicit history. Sexual abuse does not.

It takes courage to gather children from whatever they’re doing and kneel together as a family. It takes courage to turn off the television and the computer and to guide your family through the pages of the scriptures every day. It takes courage to turn down other invitations on Monday night so that you can reserve that evening for your family. It takes courage and willpower to avoid over-scheduling so that your family can be home for dinner.

Courageous parenting does not always involve saying no. Parents also need courage to say yes to the counsel of modern-day prophets. Our Church leaders have counseled us to establish righteous patterns in our homes. Consider five fundamental practices that have the power to fortify our youth: family prayer, family scripture study, family home evening, family dinner together, and regular one-on-one interviews with each child.