Role of Family in Human Values | UPSC Mains: Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude PDF Download

Role of Family in Human Values

A family is a social institution united by shared beliefs, religion, customs, culture, language, and lifestyle. It preserves and passes down heritage and traditions from one generation to the next. The Child Rearing Practices (CRP) adopted by parents play a significant role in shaping a child's personality, both consciously and subconsciously. Through family, a child develops self-knowledge, self-confidence, self-satisfaction, self-worth, and the ability to make sacrifices. They also learn to demonstrate kindness, friendship, generosity, compassion, tolerance, responsibility, and a sense of service to society.

Techniques of value inculcation by family

• Family as the First Agency for Socialization: The family is the initial informal agency that socializes a child, often referred to as the first school, with the mother acting as the first teacher.
• Shaping Attitudes and Supporting Growth: The family influences a child's attitude toward others and society, aids in mental development, and supports the child's goals and values.
• Values Formation: The family plays a significant role in value formation due to the strong emotional bond between family members.
• Private Relationships – Contact Comfort Studies: Studies on contact comfort show that baby monkeys who stay close to their mother are more emotionally secure and confident. Similarly, the attitude of sharing is developed among siblings and cousins.
• Child-rearing Practices: Family-based child-rearing practices, whether democratic or authoritative, impact a child's values. Children raised in an authoritative environment tend to show less concern for democratic values.
• Role Modeling: Children learn both consciously and subconsciously from the behavior of their parents. For example, Gandhiji learned the techniques of Satyagraha and fasting from his mother and wife, respectively.
• Observational Learning: Children observe the behavior of their parents and other family members, learning from these interactions.
• Values of Service and Business Class: Families in different social classes, such as the service and business classes, may emphasize different values depending on their background and priorities.
• Orthodox vs. Liberal Families: Families can vary in values, with some being more orthodox, adhering strictly to traditions, and others being more liberal, embracing change and flexibility.
• Unaware vs. Aware Families: Some families are unaware of their impact on children's values and development, while others are more conscious and actively guide their children's upbringing.
• Patriarchal vs. Matriarchal Families: In patriarchal families, authority and decision-making are primarily held by male figures, while in matriarchal families, women take the lead in these roles.

Strengths of the family for value inculcation:

• It is the first place of socialisation
• Family is forever
• Person spends the highest time in the family in general.
• Family consists of diverse people.
• Presence of trust among the members.
• Family can teach whatever it wants because the child is like a blank slate.
• It uses both hard and soft tools of socialisation.
• It can observe progress minutely.

Problems in the Role of Family

• Promotion of Regressive and Unjust Values: The family can sometimes promote outdated and unfair values, such as casteism, patriarchy, and orthodoxy.
• Conflicting Values from Different Family Members: Family members may teach conflicting values, for example, a father might promote aggression, while the mother advocates for being unassertive.
• Failure to Practice What Is Preached: Families often fail to practice the values they teach, such as when a father tells his children not to swear at home but then behaves inappropriately himself.
• Changing Family Structure: With the rise of nuclear families, family members often spend less time together, impacting family dynamics and values.
• Materialistic Values Over Caring Values: The prevalence of materialistic values, such as competition, often overshadows values like care and love within families.
• Imposing Values on Children: Families sometimes impose their values on children without considering their choices, limiting the autonomy of the younger generation.

Methods of promoting values in Family

• Promoting Fundamental Values: Emphasizing core values such as tolerance, love, sympathy, nonviolence, companionship, and Dharma.
• Positive Attitude and Constructive Actions: Fostering positive actions while minimizing negative behaviors, encouraging a constructive mindset.
• Family Peace and Harmony: Achieving family peace and harmony by eliminating dominance and promoting equality and understanding.
• Improving Social Life and Equality: Enhancing social well-being through cleanliness, a healthy home environment, hygiene, and good health.
• Shared Meals: Sharing meals together, fostering connection and unity.
• Gentleness and Respect: Promoting gentleness, good manners, cooperation, and respect for women and elders.
• Respecting Religious Beliefs: Offering prayers to one's own deity while respecting the beliefs of others.
• Family Gatherings: Actively participating in and enjoying family gatherings, strengthening familial bonds.

An ideal society promotes opportunity

• Physical, Intellectual, and Moral Development: Contributing to each individual's overall growth—physically, intellectually, and morally.
• Discovering Potential: Helping individuals uncover and realize their full potential.
• Shaping Opinions and Ideals: Molding people's opinions, beliefs, morals, and ideals to encourage positive change.
• Instilling Positive Values: Promoting values such as hard work, honesty, tolerance, national integration, secularism, and responsibility.
• Rejecting Negative Values: Actively rejecting harmful values like dowry, casteism, communalism, alcoholism, and drug abuse.
• Improving Quality of Life: Enhancing the quality of life by overlooking social tensions, unrest, prejudices, and other divisive factors.
• Ensuring Justice and Equality: Striving for justice and equality, particularly for those who are nameless, faceless, and voiceless in society.
• Cultivating Discipline: Fostering both individual and group discipline to encourage a structured, responsible society.