"Compare the nations of the world to the members of a family. A family is a nation in miniature. Simply enlarge the circle of the household and you have the nation. Enlarge the circle of nations and you have all humanity. The conditions surrounding the family surround the nation." -ʻAbdu'l-Bahá /// So as this wise man instructed, I will view a family as I do a nation. The ideal family is an extended family, one of relatives and one of friends. To bring you into a family, you need to get married, and whoever adopts the other's last name joins that family (With a lot of exceptions obviously). That, or you could just be invited in, due to being close friends with that family. For every person in a married relationship, there should be two kids. For example, just 1 husband and 1 wife would have 4 kids (And this would be the standard, having more than one person as a partner, or choosing not to get married and have just 2 kids instead is your choice). A family should be defined by it's relationships with each other, their interests, etc. Their surname should tell you what they are and what they do. For example, 'Baker' should be a family of cooks or something. You should be able to leave a family if they mistreat you or you don't align with them. Every family should have some kind of founding document, or something explaining their goals, their parenting style, their family structure, etc. Families should be expected to take care of their members through illness and injury. As people live longer, the amount of family members should get bigger. For example, as people live to 80~, great-grand parents should be included in the family.
