Nobody seems to be teaching and enforcing the importance of lifelong care and unity within families in the UK. Babies are being born into utterly broken families at worst and at best may grow up with relatives around but without any sense of keeping connections once they leave home.

In my own family there is no sharing out of care, the ‘duty’ falls on myself for my elderly father which is a tremendous strain. I have had to seek intervention from other services because although I have capable siblings and relatives who could contribute, we are estranged, or they are simply too lazy. I gave up trying to enlist their help as it added to the stress of everything rather than made things better.

Disfunction within families seems to abound. Taking and sharing responsibility and roles within families isn’t just good for the sense of strength and wellbeing of ourselves, but for the country’s sense of identity aswell. There seems to be so much family disfunction and breakdown that by the time we reach old age, we will be lucky if we are even on speaking terms with our siblings and other relatives.

We don’t have to subscribe to conventional family units/marriage etc to adopt a caring philosophy towards our loved ones. We have to learn again how important it is to give and recieve love and care at all stages of our lives. Unless we relearn how to care more for our families (and neighbours) what other options are there, except to ask our government to help?