In happy families; parents validate each other as parents. This means each parent communicates to the children that the other parent is a good person who deserves love and respect. Each parent encourages the children to love, respect, obey and admire the other parent. In unhappy families, parents tend to bad-mouth each other to their children. They communicate the faults of the other parent to their children, and in this way, they undermine each other's authority.

Happy families stay connected with their relatives. They communicate, and they plan get-togethers with grndparents, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews, no matter where they live.  Unhappy families lose touch with their extended families. The children don't know their relatives – their names, their ages, their careers. Family pride just doesn't seem to exist in unhappy families.

Happy families set aside time to have fun together. Families that do well value this time so much that they build it into their schedule. Unhappy families never seem to have the time to enjoy each other, and rarely make plans for fun.

The members of happy families compliment each other and show their appreciation for one another. Parents model this behavior, and then children copy their parents. Compliments such as the following are often heard in happy families:

• 'You look nice in your new dress.'

Unhappy families rarely take the time to give compliments. In fact, research has shown that the happier people are the more compliments they give to others.

Happy families avoid abusive language. They're careful about what they say to each other and how they say it. They don't beat each other up with cutting words, sarcasm or swearing. If someone needs to be criticized, the criticism is not communicated in an insulting way. In unhappy families, people say whatever comes to mind when they're upset. They're almost oblivious to how powerful and damaging words can be to the feelings and self-esteem of other family members.

Article found on www.yahoo.com by Chris Tobeck