How important is family background to you?

[cheerfulgreek]

Last night, I got into a discussion about this subject with a friend of mine, so I thought it would be a good topic to start a thread on.

When we date people, we date to see if that person is compatible with us or not. Some of us can tell within the 1st five minutes if this is going to be someone I can hang out with, rather it's for friendship, sex, or a serious relationship. But when you date someone, rather it's casual dating or for something more serious, how important is that person's family background to you? Does it really matter?

For me, I don't really think it matters. I've never been seriously involved with a guy(s) who actually has/had a bad family, not because it was my choice, but because those guys were guys I met and took interest in. The family isn't what attracted me to those guys. The guys I've "dated" may have had some family issues, but I never really looked into it because they were only dates, and not guys I wanted to get serious with, so I didn't care. For the guys I wanted something serious with, I still didn't care, because it was the guy I wanted not the family. I mean, if he comes from a good family, that's great, but if he doesn't, then that's fine too. It's not a deal breaker for me.

What is it? Is it a total deal breaker for you? And what would you define as a bad family background? What might be bad for you, may not be for someone else.