Parents and in-laws can have great influence on a relationship, positive and negative. It is important that only a couple decides how to live, applying their own way of communication, and their own rules and values.

Equally as important is for parents to be able to let go of their children, because changes are forced onto the partnership. Only through open communication between the partners and mutual decision making can the partnership show that it comes first and may flourish in the future. The departed children must also understand their new role, which is quite different from before.