I think it's possible to identify normal, although liberal thinking seems to think this is a dirty concept. It is normal to love your children, normal to not have sex with children, normal to not beat your children, normal to create a home where safety and basic care needs are attended. We can describe any manner of child rearing as normal, but abusing children is not normal. It is devastating. My childhood was not normal and I crave those family elements which were missing. Normal doesn't mean perfect and I would have welcomed those casual fractures which a family can survive. Meh, it's a privilege to question the concept of normal.