Does Family Size Affect A Child’s Self-Esteem?

Family is not one of the most important things in life, it is everything! It is the soil that shapes our roots, and helps us to grow better and stay grounded. We all need to belong somewhere and therefore, a family is something that transforms a house into a home.

However, the social fabric of India is changing rapidly. While in this county, joint families have existed since time immemorial but now slowly people are opting for nuclear families. So, gradually, joint families are fading away.

While a Joint family is an extended family, typically consisting of three or more generations and their spouses, living together as a single household; a nuclear family is a family unit that consists of father, mother, and children.

When it comes to raising a child, there is no perfect rule book. All parents try their best to provide the best environment and resources for their kids, but we now know for a fact that children learn from one's actions and not words.

So does family size affect children's self-esteem? Yes, it does and here is what you need to know.

A study done by Research Square suggests that children who grow up in joint families nurture and cultivate a set of collective values such as interdependence, shared identity, tolerance of ambiguities, compassion, group-goal orientation and collective enhancing practices. These values may have or can act as a collective mode of facing life threats in different situations.

Here's how living with a large family can boost your child's self-esteem and help in their overall development.

1. Meaningful Cross-Age Relationship

Living in joint families, where elderly people are present, can be beneficial for both- a child and an aged member(s). While kids can get a taste of wisdom and experience and feel valued, elderly people can learn new skills and stop feeling lonely. This will help the kids to enjoy their life more.

2. Developing Interpersonal Skills

Kids who grow up in joint families are said to develop better interpersonal skills than the ones who live in nuclear families. In a bigger family, the learning opportunities for a child also multiply. Sharing, tolerance, patience and cooperation are something they grasp easily. They become more social in their formative years.

3. Gratitude And Appreciation

When a child will see family members engaging in different activities to get tasks done on a daily basis; while enjoying the fruit of someone's labour, they will automatically learn to show gratitude. Also, they will understand and appreciate hardwork and practice themselves. This will eventually develop a feeling of respect towards others.

4. Understanding Happiness

We often want to raise happy kids without knowing how to do it. Well, happiness is not stored somewhere and one needs to create it with their thoughts and actions. So, be it achieving a milestone, or getting a medal or going for a trip, when there are a big group to celebrate it, the joy also manifolds. Theses instances will make a child understand that sharing is caring. And bad moments? It will vanish into thin air in minutes.

5. Sharing Is Caring

While the world teaches a child that the more we care for someone, the chances of getting hurt increases; your child can develop the right mindset that is 'sharing is caring' while living in a joint family. This also develops the child's overall personality and help them to learn to share things with others. Also, later in their life, this same quality will help them to deal with possessiveness for people or things.

6. Imbibing Family Values

Growing up together can create a sense of belongingness and having the back of each other no matter what. This will help the child to learn that no matter how difficult a situation is, they can always fight back and not give up easily. They will also understand how to empathise with people around them, share their problems and help them with a solution.

7. Learning Protocols Of A Society

Your child will know all the protocols of living in a society and the necessary tools needed to face the world. They won't have to look anywhere else to look to learn about companionship and cooperation. It will prepare your child to hope for the best and at the same time prepare them for the worst.

8. Eliminates The Need For Babysitters

Needless to say, this is the biggest challenge that working parents face who live in nuclear families. Living in a joint family eliminates the need for daycare or babysitters because there is always someone in the house to look after the child. The parents are also relieved that their children are in safe hands and being given the necessary love and care.