One of the trends of modern day living is that families do spend less time together than they used to. It used to be a cardinal rule that they would take their meals together and make conversation about their day but now you find people with TV dinners, watching the telly instead of spending time with their family.
This is a challenge that every modern day parent faces. Families are busy and many people have second jobs but it is important for a family to spend as much time together. Activities such as scrabble, a friendly football game or an English course for kids and all the family will mean that members of a family are interacting and conversing.
Many people seem to have lost the art of conversation which is incredibly sad for a species which relies on interaction and familial support. People are now more solitary than they used to be, often without the family and friends network that brings out the best in us.
Parents see their children leaving home at an early age, often as young as sixteen, when they are still in their formation period and this is a challenge to both parent and child.
In short, as a family unit we must try to spend more time together and to learn from each other. Without family we are lost.