family values

Family values, sometimes referred to as familial values, are traditional or cultural values that pertain to the family's structure, function, roles, beliefs, attitudes, and ideals. The concept of family values may also refer to the extent to which familial relationships are valued within people's lives. In the social sciences and U.S. political discourse, the conventional term "traditional family" describes the nuclear family—a child-rearing environment composed of a leading father, a homemaking mother, and their nominally biological children. A family deviating from this model is considered a nontraditional family. However, in most cultures at most times, the extended family model has been most common, not the nuclear family, and the "nuclear family" became the most common form in the U.S. in the 1960s and 1970s. Definition Several online dictionaries define "family values" as the following: "the moral and ethical principles traditionally upheld and passed on within a family, as fidelity, honesty, truth, and faith." "values especially of a traditional or conservative kind which are held to promote the sound functioning of the family and to strengthen the fabric of society." "values held to be traditionally taught or reinforced within a family, such as those of high moral standards and discipline." In politics