This orientation toward their own parents and its impact on the couple starts with the wedding and continues through pregnancies and then on to the birth of their children. Men are often marginalized during these important life events, and their parents are also pushed aside. Traditionally, the wife/mother controls the children's schedules. Because the woman's own mother has been intimately involved in the kids' lives from the start, there is a bond between them that the younger mother actively fosters and values.