Family Health: Importance of Family in Child Development

Running head: FAMILY HEALTH
FAMILY HEALTH
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

1FAMILY HEALTH
Family can be defined as the first social unit that an infant is exposed to and it
contributes extensively towards the growth and development of the child. A family is
responsible for inculcating the true values of culture, custom, religious belief, social manners
and ethical values in a child (Liddle 2015). According to the modern context, family has been
identified to possess eight major characteristics that differentiate it greatly from the familial
concept operating in the 19th century era (Handel 2017). Identifying characteristics such as a
nuclear unit, decreased power of marriage, economic independence, altered relationship
between man and woman, lesser influence of religious background, laxity in sexual
relationship, parting with non-essential functions and adapting a filo-centric theme for the
family has been associated with the contemporary familial concept (Cowan and Hetherington
2013). However, it is critical to note here that family plays the most important role in the
successful upbringing of a child.
Family evokes the very first essence of a social behaviour in a child. The family is
primarily responsible for imparting moral values, ethics and the concepts of sharing, caring
and the spirit of unity in a child. According to my perspective I relate with the concept of
togetherness and sharing being associated with the central theme of this article which is
‘family’. Travelling together and making memories have been identified by me as the key
elements promoting an essence of ‘family’. Going for short trips or long vacations, once in a
while with the immediate family members is extremely important as it strengthens the bond
and at the same time also helps in diversifying the mental outlook towards things happening
around us. To be able to see the world with our dear ones happens to be the most beautiful
experience that affects us, especially I remember the first time my parents took me to the zoo
when I was four or five years old. During our visit, my parents kept telling me a little about
every animal we came across and that was how I remembered the name of the animals, the
sounds they make and their babies. I certainly feel that I developed my strongest concept
back then and I never found myself struggling hard to memorise the names of animals or their
babies as my homework later on.
Family care plays a vital role in designing interventions pertaining to mental health or
to access the behavioural development of children and also individuals transitioning to
adolescence (Alexander et al.2013). It has been recorded in scientific literatures that
maintaining a close association with family members while administering cognitive
behavioural therapy in children or carrying out mental health interventions in young
individuals affected with depression or anxiety yields successful results at a speedy rate