The article covers problems of contemporary state of a family, early marriages and family breakdowns - divorces in the Re-public of Tatarstan. The results of the survey held by Family and demography center of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan are presented in the paper. The scientific project 'Family institute in the context of demographic development of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan (ethno-regional aspect)' examines the topic 'Family and school interaction as a condition for successful socialization of pupils'. It reveals main directions of interaction of two social institutes and defines ways of effective dialogue between family and school. The research showed that the problem of marriage and family is urgent for young people, and they construct their own ideal image of it. Youth treats marriage quite seriously and understands that marriage is a totally new stage of life. Pupils' image of a family reflects the image of their parents' family. It was found out in the survey that pupils would like to have such a subject at school as 'Family management and housekeeping' in order to be ready for family life.