While some people believe that family has the greatest influence on a child’s development, others argue that other factors such as friends, television, and music,… are more impactful. Although both viewpoints have merit, I am of the opinion that family influences children more significantly.
On the one hand, non-family environments can influence children in many different ways. First, children tend to copy their surrounding friends in order to fit in socially. For example, children may adopt their peers’ attitudes, language, and fashion styles so that they would not be left out in a group of friends -> to avoid being excluded from a group of friends. Moreover, with the widespread use of today’s technology, youngsters get more access to social media. This allows them to be exposed to more diverse ideas and perspectives of the world, which partly help shape their character and worldview.
On the other hand, I believe family plays a more influential role in a child’s development. Since young children spend most of their early years at home, they naturally imitate their parents’ behaviours. Furthermore, parents are responsible for teaching their children basic moral standards such as sympathy, respect, and caring during these formative years. Therefore, parents have a strong impact on forming the foundation of a child’s development. Consequently, even when external influences become more prominent later in life, family influence remains deeply rooted in a child’s personality and behaviour.
In conclusion, while external factors can influence children’s opinions for various reasons, I believe family exerts the strongest impact on their development as it lays the foundation of their behaviours and attitudes from the early years.