Cultural norms, societal values, and media can also shape common family values. During the 1980s, for instance, popular sitcoms promoted career women and modeled more equal divisions of labor.

Firehouse family values principally operate the same. Just as families thrive when they are guided by a set of core beliefs, firehouse families also operate on a similar principle.

Because values are complex, defining and getting your entire family to abide by the same ones can feel challenging. I’ve seen this hold especially true when wealth is passed on to grown children ...