The Family Rules And Rules In The Nuclear Family

The family rules and boundaries were permeable, meaning they were strict enough to keep the children in line, but flexible enough to allow them to grow into independent adults. The family boundary could be described as more rigid than flexible since this family remained close to one another, but did not shut off their family boundary from others. They preferred to do things and keep information within the nuclear family, but information and other people were allowed to flow in and out of this family’s boundary.

Both the mother and father respected their marital vows and remained mutually faithful to each other. The family rules were mostly set and enforced by the father. The mother was required to stay home and raise the children through their formative years. When the children became more independent, the mother did gain employment outside of the home. When the children were young, unless a stronger disciplinary hand was needed, the mother was expected to handle everything to do with the children and the father stayed distant until adolescence. Both children felt the rules and expectations were pretty basic and they knew there would be consequences if those rules and expectations were not followed.

Both parents learned and passed onto the children that if something is wrong you put on a happy face and move on. Steve was taught to believe that talking through a problem was a waste of time. If there is a communication problem, the blame is entirely on the other person involved and no one ever takes advantage of someone in the family. There was no such thing as a miscommunication, it was black and white, one person is entirely right and the other person is entirely wrong. Compromise was not in the vocabulary of this family. Conflicts were rarely solved through communication, but instead they were resolved when one person admitted fault or the relationship is