“Family: The Most Important Agent of Socialization?

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Family is the basic and the smallest unit of the society. It is where an individual begins to
learn and is first nurtured – physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.
As basic and essential building blocks of societies, families have a crucial role in social
development. They bear the primary responsibility for the education and socialization of
children as well as instilling values of citizenship and belonging in the society. (IFFD NGO in
Special Consultative Status with ECOSOC, 2017)
Their exposures to their families are an important factor with the way they interact and
socialize; hence, making family as the most important agent of socialization. Part of these
development of an individual are the following:
 thinking and speaking - the manner how is one able to communicate
 developing personal relationships - developed further through communication
 sense of belongingness - the feeling of being accepted socially
 character growth - development of their values and attitude towards others
 norms and beliefs - development of their cultural beliefs towards society
In summary, family is the most effective and the influential agent. They give the most
experiences to an individual before being exposed to the society.

REFERENCES:
International Federation for Family Development (IFFD) NGO in Special Consultative Status
with ECOSOC (2017). The Crucial Role of Families, p.1