All three political parties have announced measures this week to help the family. With a general election approaching, winning the family vote is likely to be crucial.
A key Tory pledge is to change the tax system in favour of married couples. The former party leader Iain Duncan Smith - who now heads the Centre for Social Justice thinktank - says the family should be at the heart of government. He tells me how the government can encourage marriage without penalising people who aren't married.
Ed Balls, the children's secretary, explains why the government has produced a pamphlet this week with important advice for new fathers, to encourage better parenting.
We hear the views of mums and dads from an area of south London known locally as "Nappy Valley" because of the high concentration of young families living there.
Joining our panel is Justine Roberts, co-founder of Mumsnet - a website whose users are being wooed assiduously by politicians of various stripes. The coming poll has even been called the "Mumsnet election".
Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee, herself an influential voice among social policy makers, says SureStart must be protected by whichever party wins the election.
And Tim Dowling, who writes about his own family in his column in Guardian Weekend magazine, gives his view about the extent to which politicians should get involved in the family.
