A daughter's choice — one way to create a family (8)
I believe the answer is:
adoption
'one way to create a family' is the definition.
(children may be adopted to make a family)
'a daughter's choice' is the wordplay.
'daughter' becomes 'd' (genealogical abbreviation).
'choice' becomes 'option' (synonyms).
'a'+'d'+'option'='ADOPTION'
(Other definitions for adoption that I've seen before include "Acceptance (of, eg, a report)" , "process to select candidate" , "Espousal, a fostering" , "ratification" , "how to create a family" .)