Family is the first social circle in every human being’s life. The effects of family bonds reflect on the individual’s personality, way of life and self-confidence. However, the question is what defines a strong family?
In my opinion, attention is the most important element. However, it does not mean the high “volume” of attention will be healthy conduct in every case, because people have different natures so their nature is unpredictable, which means there is a different formula for each family in which the attention element decreases or increases. In other words, attention should be in reasonable rates, especially from the parents towards children.
In different areas of the world,family relations have different forms. For example, here in the Middle East, parents commit to raise their children for an unlimited periodby spending money on their education, health care, and food,and the wedding costs for each gender. On the other hand, in western communities, families are committed to raise their children until the age of 18.
Children older than eighteen years are left on their own. Nevertheless, in the return children are not committed to take care of their parents when they age. In this time, Middle Eastern people are obligated to look after their parents financially and emotionally when they become old due to the traditions andreligion.
The previous examples of family commitments indicate how families are internally attached in different areas around the world. However, each model has its pros and cons. For instance, the Middle Eastern model is good for the old people, but it is not good for the young people.
The reason is it encourages the youngsters to depend on their families to support them financially and to provide houses and food, in the age that they are supposed to be ready to support themselves to create new families. The western type ignores the elder people who really need attention and full time care at that age. Sending them to old people shelters or sending them presents once or twice a year is not enough.
In addition to the element of attention, there are other important parts to be considered in a strong and healthy family, like respect and discipline.With the attention element, this combination will probably create the desired family type.
Discipline is the kind of behavior in which the parent controls his or her actions in the presence of his or her children, like avoiding bad habits in front of the children like smoking or talking in inappropriate language. The reason is the child will consider it a normal behavior if the parent does this kind of action.
Cohesion is another important element in a family. Cohesion brings about the feeling of being loved and a sense of belonging. Good families allow members to exercise their individuality and at the same time feel that they belong to the large family, because their autonomy is recognized.
The family supports an individual and builds their confidence hence self-esteem. The family members know the right amount of attention to give to each individual so that they do not feel smothered or alone. Individuals who grow up in a family that has cohesion become confident self -assured individuals who know that they can pursue their own goals and count on the support of the other family members.
Furthermore, communication is important in a family. Factors that contribute to communication are family closeness, time spent with each other and respect. Families that have good communication channels allow the members to express themselves.
The children who grow up in a family that allows people to express themselves have an opportunity of talking about things that bother them and the parents can help them. On the contrary, families that lack good communication do not function properly as members feel alone with no one to talk to and an individual may seek attention outside the home from wrong people.
Communication makes members of the family feel important because others pay attention to them. Good communication also includes courtesy, honesty and obedience. Children who are taught to be obedient listen to their parents’ instructions and advice and hence live harmoniously.
Obedient children grow up to become obedient citizens who respect and obey the laws of the country. Besides, family members who practice courtesy such saying sorry, excuse and thank you show that they have consideration for others.Therefore, communication is important to a healthy family.
In conclusion, family is the mirror of human beings. This means if you see a stable and decent individual, the family construction has large effect on his or her personality. A healthy family is good for individuals and whole society. Children in healthy families grow well with less emotional challenges. They in turn start strong healthy families when their time comes because they learnt good value families from their own. It’s crucial thing to consider thinking about a good and healthy family.