Family influence: key to children’s social development

Socialisation is an ongoing process through which parents teach their children the necessary skills for adapting and thriving in society. This process includes instilling proper values, beliefs, and behaviours, enabling children to interact positively with others and become successful and happy in their communities.

Key roles the family plays in a child's social development include:

Imparting positive values to children

Values are the principles and concepts that guide individuals in distinguishing between right and wrong actions and decisions. Therefore, it is crucial for families, especially parents, to impart positive values to their children and teach them how to apply these values to succeed and thrive in society.

For example, promoting honesty includes encouraging children to tell the truth consistently and praising their honesty, while teaching cooperation includes motivating their participation in group activities and helping others. This approach helps children understand and implement these values in their daily lives, contributing to their positive personality development and enabling them to become responsible members of society.

Imparting religious values to Children

Instilling and reinforcing religious values in children is essential for their social development. Raising them on authentic and inclusive religious teachings shapes their positive values and behaviours, fostering qualities like morality, tolerance, compassion, and justice, which are practised in their everyday lives.

Furthermore, religious teachings guide children in comprehending their societal roles and responsibilities, promoting peaceful and respectful coexistence with individuals of diverse religions and cultures. This deeper understanding of society nurtures healthy relationships and enriches children’s interactions with others.

Enhancing the child's skills holistically

From birth, children start acquiring essential skills like finger control, walking, expressing emotions, and various forms of communication. The family's role is crucial in nurturing and developing these skills, laying the foundation for a strong social personality capable of adapting and engaging with the world around them.

Vital social skills for a child's growth include face-to-face interaction, appropriate expression of thoughts and emotions, and effective communication. These skills are cultivated through family interactions, such as regular conversations and active listening.

Forming a positive role model to the child

Children are highly influenced by the behaviour of their family members, often perceiving and emulating them as standard behaviour. Hence, parents should exemplify the positive behaviours they wish to instil in their child, ensuring a well-rounded upbringing that includes social development.

Introducing children to diverse social environments

The family plays a pivotal role in guiding children through different social environments, such as home, school, playgrounds, and educational settings. This early exposure fosters vital social communication skills.

For instance, at school, children learn to respect teachers and classmates and ask permission to leave. On the playground, they learn collaboration, group play skills, and respecting game rules. At home, children learn to participate in family activities, cooperate in performing household tasks, and so on.

Teaching children their society's customs and traditions

Families play a vital role in introducing children to their society's customs and traditions, which reflect its history, culture, and heritage. This knowledge enables children to interact optimally and build stable social bonds.

In most Arab societies, families serve as significant centres of social and emotional support, emphasising the importance of instilling values of loyalty in children. Moreover, teaching children hospitality is also essential in Arab culture, ensuring they learn how to welcome and respect guests.

Including children in family gatherings and events is also important. It enhances their social skills, introduces them to new people, and deepens their understanding of society and culture. These experiences strengthen their sense of belonging and preserve their social connections.

Monitoring children's interaction with society

Monitoring children's interactions with society is crucial to ensure that their behaviour aligns with social norms and values and that they can communicate and interact effectively. When children make mistakes in social interactions, it is their family’s responsibility to guide and correct them.

They should explain these mistakes to them and clarify the appropriate behaviours, while emphasising the importance of supporting and reassuring them. Children need to know that their family, especially their parents, will assist them in navigating social situations and that mistakes are a natural part of the learning process.

Building society: role of family in child's social upbringing

Parents are often concerned about their child's development and upbringing. This concern motivates them to create a supportive environment that ensures their well-rounded growth in all aspects of life. Consequently, the family becomes the child's first teacher and the one responsible for shaping their social personality and instilling positive social values and skills.

The family plays a vital role in passing societal values and behaviours to children through direct and indirect guidance. By modelling appropriate behaviours and engaging in daily interactions, parents shape their children’s social personalities and set the foundation for their interactions with the external environment.

The family serves as the child's primary source of motivation and support, nurturing their interests and shaping their behaviour. This support helps them navigate both successes and challenges, fostering the development of their social skills and relationships with others.

References 

[1] growkido.com, 11 Key Role of Family in Socialization of a Child [Must Check #3]
[2] all4kids.org, The Role of Family in Child Development
[3] simplypsychology.org, The First Agent Of Socialization: Family
[4] rwu.pressbooks.pub, Agents of Socialization