We don't really go in for big family dinners, but Scottish people are famously confrontational. It's a cultural thing, so maybe we don't need to have them to clear the air. Also, traditional family food isn't as nice here so there's no payoff for traveling hundreds of miles.
As soon as I gave birth, it was as if you understand them. They become people, not kids. You start to identify with them. You see yourself in them.