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SallySnead
RWW9,Class8
Ms.Bartz
March6
FamilyFirst
Peoplespersonalidentitieshavebeenthemajorwaythattheydefine
themselves.Identityissoimportanttopeoplebecauseitgivestheminsightonhow
otherpeopleviewthemselves,anditgivesonespeersabetterlookintowhotheyare
asaperson.Intodaysworld,itssohardforsomeonetokeeptheiridentitythesame
throughouttheirlifebecausetherearesomanydistractionsandexperiencestohave
thatcanchangethemasaperson.Themainproblemliesinwhatapersondecidesto
dobasedoffoftheirmorals.Manypeoplebelievethatfriendsorpeersarethebiggest
contributingfactortoidentitybecausepeoplespendthemosttimewiththem.People
usuallytrytochangeopinions,interests,ortypicalactionsinordertofitinwithothers.
Whatpeopleneedtounderstandisthatitdoesntmatterwhatfactorscomeintoa
personslifeinlateryears,butthatthefoundationoftheiridentitymadeinyounger
yearswillalwaysstayconstant.Becauseofthat,familyisthemostimportantfactorto
formingapersonsidentity.
Familyhasthebiggestaffectonapersonsidentitybecausetheyhelp
instillthevaluesthatonecanbasedecisionsoffoffortherestoftheirlife.Strong
influencesfromfamilyatayoungagecanleadachildtotrustingtheirowninner
choicemakingabilitiesratherthanrelyingonpeerpressure,themedia,andother

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outsideinfluencesasguidingbeacons(Medhus,MD).Familygiveschildrenabaseset
ofmoralsthatinfluencetheirdecisionsfortherestoftheirlives.Thisinfluenceleads
childrentobackawayfromcertainsituationsthattheyknowarewrong,aswellas
directingthemtomakechoicesbasedoffofwhattheywereallowedtodogrowingup.
Familyteacheschildrenhowtoidentifywithotherpeopleandrecognizethattheirown
feelingsaresharedbyothers(Davidson).Familyshowstheirchildrenhowtotreat
otherpeopleandwhentosupportthemandwhentobackaway.Thisiscriticaltothe
relationshipsthatapersonformsintheirlifebecausethevaluesthattheylearnasakid
willgivethemempathytowardsothers.Itwillalsoallowpeopletoconnecttoothers
throughtherealizationofsharedfeelingsandexperiences.
Familycanalsocreateastrongsenseofselfconfidenceandcharacterthata
personcarriesonfortherestoftheirlife.Thisisoftenshownthroughthechild
mimickingofthebehaviorthattheirparentsdisplayedintheiryoungeryears.This
mainlyhappensbetweenages35when[children]internalizethesebehaviors
(VargasBenitez).Childrenaretheepitomeofmonkeysee,monkeydo.Whengrowing
up,thebehaviorthatkidsseetheirparentsdisplayingiswhattheywillendupdoing
themselveswhentheygrowup.Thisaffectsidentitybecauseifchildrengrowupseeing
theirparentstreatpeoplewithrespectandkindness,thisiswhattheylldowhenthey
growup.However,thiscanalsoleadtochildrenactingouttheviolencetheyobserved
intheiryouthoncetheygrowup.Personalitycanalsobeaffectedbythekindoffamily
someonehas,orbythetimeframeinwhichtheyenteredthefamily.Thisisbecause
parentsaredifferentwitheachoftheirchildren,andnotwochildrentakethesamerole

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(Gross).Parentschangetheirstyleandapproachestoraisingachildeverytimethey
haveone.Thiscanleadtochildrenbeingtaughtdifferentsocialskillsinordertoget
attentionfromtheirfamily,whichusuallycarryonintotheirlaterlives.Forexample,only
childrenmaturemuchquickerbecausetheyaresurroundedbyadultsintheir
adolescentyears,whilechildrenwithsiblingsaremoreoverachievingand,sometimes,
outgoingbecausetheyareconstantlyfightingforattention.Familyhelpscreatethe
basisofwhosomeoneisandhowonewouldthinkthatwillstickwiththemfortherestof
theirlife.
Somepeoplearguethattheinfluencesandpeopleonecomesacrosslaterin
theirlife,suchasfriendsandotherpeers,arethebiggestaffectonidentity.However,
peersonlyhelpadddifferentaspectsontothepersonalitythattheyhavealready
created.Friendscometoaroundatapointinoneslifewhentheirtrueidentityhas
alreadybeenset,liketheteenageyears,whichleadspeopletodrifttoothersthathave
thesamesetofmoralsastheydo.Thismakesthefriendsthatpeoplehaveexpand
onesthoughtsandcomfortzone,notidentity.Therefore,friendsandpeerscanonlydo
somuchtoinfluenceonesthoughtsandmoralsthathavealreadybeensetbytheir
family.
Familyisthebiggestinfluenceandcontributingfactorwhenitcomestoforminga
personsidentity.Theyaretheonesthatteachmoralsandvaluessoearlyoninlifethat
becomeapartofeverydaylife.Theyalsoinfluencebothinternalandexternalbehavior
basedonwhatbehaviorachildseeswhentheyareyounger.Ifpeopledonot
understandtheimportanceofthefamilyonapersonslife,thensocietywillslowlydrift

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awayfromtraditionalvaluesandbemorereliantonoutsidesupportandinfluencesfor
lifedecisions.Weneedtounderstandthatifafamilyprovidespoorrolemodelsand
guidelinesatayoungagethenthenextgenerationswillendupcreatingbadsituations
andlifestylesforthemselves.

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WorksCited

Davidson,RichardJ."RaisingaMoralChild."
FamilyandRelationships:
.Vision,2013.
Web.14Apr.2016.
VargasBenitez,Jaime."TheParentalInfluencesonChildren'sIdentity."
TheParental
InfluencesonChildren'sIdentity
.DemandMedia,2015.Web.14Apr.2016.
Medhus,Elisa,MD."Opinions&Essays,08/2001TheImportanceofaStrong
FamilyIdentity."
Opinions&Essays,08/2001TheImportanceofaStrongFamily
Identity
.WoodburyReports,Aug.2001.Web.14Apr.2016.
Gross,Dr.Gail."TheAchiever,thePeacemakerandtheLifeoftheParty:HowBirth
OrderAffectsPersonality."
TheHuffingtonPost
.TheHuffingtonPost.com,22Feb.
2014.Web.14Apr.2016.