Extended families have two great strengths. The first is resilience. An extended family is one or more families in a supporting web. Your spouse and children come first, but there are also cousins, in-laws, grandparents—a complex web of relationships among, say, seven, 10, or 20 people. If a mother dies, siblings, uncles, aunts, and grandparents are there to step in. If a relationship between a father and a child ruptures, others can fill the breach. Extended families have more people to share the unexpected burdens—when a kid gets sick in the middle of the day or when an adult unexpectedly loses a job.
The Nuclear Family Was a Mistake. David Brooks @ the Atlantic
I love that Fleur gets to play with her cousin. But, I love that our families are close more. It isn’t just seeing each other on holidays.
When my brother and sister-in-law needed help a couple times in recent times, we stepped up to help them. Should we have a similar need, they would be the first we would turn to for help.
I would love that the family base were larger, but this parenting thing is rough. Having help is important.