People derive a vast amount of their happiness and wellbeing from their family relationships.
Prime Minister David Cameron has declared that 2011 will be the year when the UK first attempts to measure this wellbeing. He believes GDP is an "incomplete way" of measuring the country's progress.
Highlighting barriers to wellbeing such as the commercialisation of childhood, Mr Cameron said: “We can create a climate in this country that is more family friendly and more conducive to the good life. That is why I reject the criticism that government policy has no role in this area."
How should we define family wellbeing?
As with individual wellbeing there is no single definition of family wellbeing. But various factors are recognised:
- Linking family wellbeing to the physical, social, political and cultural environments and communities in which families live
- Relating family wellbeing to how well people's needs are met within the family through the exchange of love, care, services, goods, money, information and status
- Focusing on the quality of relationships within the family such as how well individuals communicate, how conflicts are resolved and how people support each other
