The-Conquest-of-Happiness-by-Bertrand-Russell

Chapter 13: The family
Of all the institutions that have come down to us
from the past none is in the present day so
disorganised and derailed as the family. Affection
of parents for children and of children for parents
is capable of being one of the greatest sources of
happiness, but in fact at the present day the
relations of parents and children are, in nine cases
out of ten, a source of unhappiness to both parties,
and in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred a source
of unhappiness to at least one of the two parties.
This failure of the family to provide the
fundamental satisfaction which in principle it is
capable of yielding is one of the most deepseated
causes of the discontent which is prevalent in our
age. The adult who wishes to have a happy relation
with his own children or to provide a happy life
for them must reflect deeply upon parenthood, and,
having reflected, must act wisely. The subject of
the family is far too vast to be dealt with in this
volume except in relation to our own special
problem, namely the conquest of happiness. And