A parent-in-law is a person who has a legal

affinity Affinity may refer to: Commerce, finance and law * Affinity (law), kinship by marriage * Affinity analysis, a market research and business management technique * Affinity Credit Union, a Saskatchewan-based credit union * Affinity Equity Pa ...

with another by being the

parent A parent is either the progenitor of a child or, in humans, it can refer to a caregiver or legal guardian, generally called an adoptive parent or step-parent. Parents who are progenitors are First-degree relative, first-degree relatives and have ...

of the other's

spouse A spouse is a significant other in a marriage. A female spouse is called a wife while a male spouse is called a husband. Married The legal status of a spouse, and the specific rights and obligations associated with that status, vary signific ...

. Many cultures and legal systems impose duties and responsibilities on persons connected by this relationship. A person is a child-in-law to the parents of the spouse, who are in turn also the parents of those sibling-in-laws (if any) who are siblings of the spouse (as opposed to spouses of siblings). Together, the members of this family affinity group are called the in-laws.

Fathers-in-law

A father-in-law is the

father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. A biological fat ...

of a person's spouse. Two men who are fathers-in-law to each other's children may be called co-fathers-in-law, or, if there are grandchildren, co-grandfathers.

Mothers-in-law

A mother-in-law is the

mother A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of ges ...

of a person's spouse. Two women who are mothers-in-law to each other's children may be called co-mothers-in-law, or, if there are grandchildren, co-grandmothers. In comedy and in popular culture, the mother-in-law is stereotyped as bossy, unfriendly, hostile, nosy, overbearing and generally unpleasant. They are often depicted as the bane of the husband, who is married to the mother-in-law's daughter. A

mother-in-law joke Humour and jokes about one's mother-in-law (the mother of one's spouse) are a mainstay of comedy. The humour is based on the premise that the average parent-in-law, mother-in-law considers her Affinity (law), son-in-law to be unsuitable for her d ...

is a joke that lampoons the obnoxious mother-in-law character. Some

Australian Aboriginal languages The Indigenous languages of Australia number in the hundreds, the precise number being quite uncertain, although there is a range of estimates from a minimum of around 250 (using the technical definition of 'language' as non-mutually intellig ...

use

avoidance speech Avoidance speech is a group of sociolinguistic phenomena in which a special restricted speech style must be used in the presence of or in reference to certain relatives, or in certain situations. Avoidance speech is found in many Australian Abori ...

, so-called "mother-in-law languages", special sub-languages used when in hearing distance of

taboo A taboo is a social group's ban, prohibition or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, offensive, sacred or allowed only for certain people.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...

relatives, most commonly the mother-in-law. A '' mother-in-law suite'' is also a type of dwelling, usually guest accommodations within a family home that may be used for members of the extended family.

Parent-in-law relationships

Parent-in-laws are often viewed as either a source of conflict or a source of support in a marriage relationship. Jealousy, competition, differences, and disillusioned expectations can cause conflict to arise in these relationships. The perception of parent-in-laws as negative influences on your marriage leads to the characterization of female in-laws as particularly difficult. The stereotyped

finds humor in the reality of conflict with in-laws. Positive influences have also been noted as in-laws can be a

found family Chosen family—also referred to as found family, a family of choice, or ''hānai'' family—refers to non-biological kinship bonds that are intentionally formed, regardless of legal recognition. These relationships are often based on mutual care ...

for partners/child-in-laws who are not as close to their own family. People believe that negative relationships with in-laws will have a disastrous effect on the future of their marriage. However, the amount of connection to parent-in-laws has not been found to influence the success of their children's marriage. The lack of marriage success may not fall on conflict in the parent-in-law relationship, but on whether the children-in-law are on the same page about conflicts. Thus, discordant perceptions exist between spouses and their perceptions of their relationships with their in-laws, and it is disagreements on those connections that negatively affect marriage outcomes.

References

External links

*
Audio recording of the Brothers Grimm folktale "The Mother-in-law"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parent-In-Law Affinity (law) Fatherhood Motherhood et:Sugulussuhted#Hõimlus es:Suegra it:Parentela#Gradi di parentela comuni sv:Svärfamilj#Svärföräldrar tr:Kayınvalide

Fathers-in-law

Mothers-in-law

Parent-in-law relationships

See also

References

External links