International Day of Families

A family plays a vital role in the overall development and well being of an individual, which is why one day of a year is marked to celebrate ‘Family’. International Day of Families is celebrated on a global scale, every year on 15th May, which is an initiative brought by the United Nations Programme on families. This day focuses on the importance of having healthy and happy relationships with your relatives.

Families are the basic core of our society and we are born in to them and spend an integral part of our lives, which also happen to be our most important developing years. The UN Family Programme recognizes that every family is different and the way everyone interacts with their family also varies depending up on where they are from. Each year this day hosts a different theme and the theme for International Day of Families 2018 is ‘Families and inclusive societies’, which will focus on exploring the role of families and family policies in advancing Sustainable Development Goal 16 in terms of promoting peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development.

A family is important for a child’s emotional and cognitive development and hence plays a crucial role. Let us see the other ways in which a family influences the development of a child right from his/her early years.

1. Supportive and loving family:

   For the healthy development of a child, a nurturing and loving family environment is essential. If a child feels safe and secured in the family, it forms a positive self esteem and promotes his/her well being. This will enable the child to become more competent and boost his/her social skills

2. Parental involvement:

   Parental participation in various activities of the child leads to the development of social skills in a child. Children who engage in play activities with their parents tend to display more independent behaviour. When parents show interest in their child’s life and daily activities, it helps develops a strong sense of self in the child

3. School readiness:

   Family members influence early childhood development by supporting literacy and other childhood lessons. By encouraging the practice of math and reading skills, parents tend to increase school readiness in the child. Early lessons of teaching and reading leads to more success rate in the school

4. Risk factors:

   Family risk factors also influence the path of early childhood development. Even maternal risk factors have an impact on the child’s development such as drug abuse, poverty and an environment of domestic abuse can lead to behavioural issues in children who are as young as 3 years of age. Parents can help children in at-risk situations by seeking out professional help

Thus, it is important that a child has a family background that encourages his/her development in an overall manner. Not only will your child’s cognitive and emotional skills will develop, your child will also become confident and get a boost in his/her self esteem.