But British politics frequently fails to understand this. This General Election, however, was supposed to be different. In its early days, this was dubbed the 'Mumsnet election' - the first when family issues would be placed right where they belong, at the centre of the debate.
It didn't quite work out that way. Politicians visited plenty of Sure Start centres with camera crews in tow. But many families will have been left with the feeling that family policy was the sideshow, not the main show.
The economy, and the country's deficit, dominated the election campaign, and dominates the messages emerging from the new Government. But family issues need to be central to the economic debate. After all, good family policy and good economic policy are one and the same.
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