Traditional family structures have lasted so long, despite the societal changes that have occurred through the ages, is an indication of their success as a means of the survival of mankind and civilization as a whole. While certainly there are a variety of potential family structures that can be used in the rearing of children, the fact remains that, in many areas of child development, the most success is achieved by using family forms that fall closest to the traditional family structures.

Biology demonstrates this in the most fundamental of ways. The medical community agrees, throughout the world, that breast feeding is the very best option for the nourishing of infants on a variety of levels, both physical and mental. Numerous clinical studies have shown that there are significant measurable differences in the physical and mental development of babies that are breast fed and babies that are formula fed. Babies who are nurse enjoy numerous advantages over their formula fed counterparts, ranging from fewer ear infections to stronger immune systems to higher IQ scores.

However, without operating within a traditional family structure, or as close to it as possible, in which the mother is the primary care giver to the infant, it is difficult, if not nearly impossible, for a mother to breast feed her child. That is one of the reasons why the majority of mothers in the industrialized nations fail to nurse their children exclusively for one year as recommended by physicians, with even fewer making it to the two year point which has been deemed optimal by the medical community.

In traditional family structures, the goal is to have one parent in the home, available for and caring for the children. It is not just when they are young that children need this solid presence and guidance. In fact, many of the dangers of the teen years ? sexual activity that can result in unwanted pregnancies and disease, substance abuse and general delinquency ? could be avoided through involved parenting and supervision.

And, here we come to a couple of the most fundamental elements of traditional families that genealogists appreciate, elements that are often thought of as quaint and old-fashioned in the midst of how life is lived in the modern world. Sacrifice and delayed gratification are practiced by most families that follow traditions and family history, with the immediate material benefits of a dual career family being given up to allow a mother to be at home to nurse and care for an infant or one parent to be in the home, available for supervision and parenting.

In earlier generations, when traditional family tree were more typical than they are today, families made do with a great deal less. There just didn't seem to be the need for a television in every room, an assortment of the very latest in electronic gadgets strewn throughout the home, and a general surplus of material possessions, not if it meant having someone else raise the children. Parents were more inclined to ?fulfill themselves a bit later in life, after the responsibilities of child rearing had passed.

Traditional family trees have a lot to offer when it comes to the well-being of children and the creating of the bonds that hold both families and civilizations together. We need only to look around us and to pay attention to the news to see the results of rushing to abandon the traditions and family history that have supported us through near countless generations. Casting off these time honored ways hasn't seemed to improve us.