It is believed that despite the significant impact of the family on the child’s development, external factors have a more substantial influence these days. I completely agree with this statement because children are more affected by external influences and exposure to the media than by their families while growing up.
One of the main reasons why external factors now play a greater role is that children spend most of their day outside the family environment. For example, most children attend kindergarten or school, where they not only gain valuable knowledge on different subjects but also learn about social and behavioural norms. In addition, interactions with peers greatly affect a child’s personality and their behaviour. As children tend to adopt behaviour that they observe regularly, they often start unconsciously copying the way their peers behave due to spending most of the day with them. Thus, the influence of teachers and peers often becomes more significant than that of parents.
Another reason why children these days are more influenced by factors outside the home is the development of social media. These days, children are exposed to various content on the Internet from a young age. They often spend hours scrolling through social media and following famous people, whom they often admire and see as role models. Although the ideas, values and lifestyles promoted by influencers may differ from those taught at home, children, especially teenagers, more readily imitate influencers than listen to parental advice as their critical thinking skills are not fully developed and they might not be able to differentiate between what is right and wrong.
To conclude, some believe that although family greatly affects the child’s development, external influences are more substantial. I completely agree with this statement, as interactions with peers and teachers, as well as social media content, have a more significant impact on the child these days.