Importance of home and family

Shelter, security, comfort and love for each other is what embodies a home and a family.

Home gives us security by protecting us from the harshness and brutalities of the world outside. It is a haven for people living inside giving shelter, comfort and protection. The people inside love and depend on each other. Home is a place which relaxes us after a long hard day, a place where we actually belong, a place which provides memories to cherish in later life. One can travel anywhere in the world and live in luxury hotels but when one comes back home one gets a sense of peace and comfort which is not available anywhere else in the world.

Home is a sanctuary, a place where one can open up to other family members, find mental peace and comfort in their company. It is one’s space which allows one to be in his or her element, where one is not afraid to express one’s emotions and feel complete. A home, be it tiny or large and luxurious doesn’t matter. It is as it’s said “the heart is”.

Home and family are interdependent. The two terms are difficult to narrow down to single definitions. It is a family who turns a house to a home with care, love and mutual understanding.

A family does not only have only parents and their children. In many families there are a set of parents (usually father and mother), grandparents, uncles, aunts and other relatives living under the same roof. They all share a common bond of love, understanding and a sense of belonging.

In many families children are brought up by their grand parents or uncles and aunts. This often happens if the parents have to stay away for work or in unfortunate cases of untimely death or separation of a couple. In many families there are step-parents. In modern days kids often have two fathers or two mothers who bring them up.

Many couples who are unable to have their own children adopt homeless kids and give them a home and family. These kids are brought up like their own. There are many couples nowadays who do not want their own kids and believe in adopting homeless ones and orphans and live like a family giving the children equal amount of love and care.

There are other instances also where couples do not believe in having children and adopt pets and they as a whole become a family.

Interestingly, there are many instances where individuals who are not related live together as families. Elderly people who are alone and live in a home are bound together with a common bond of friendship care and empathy.

Even schools can be considered as a family where students are bound together by a bond of camaraderie with peers and love and respect for teachers. This sentiment is stronger amongst children who live in hostels and boarding schools. Boys and girls who live as roommates for study or work also form a small family.

Family members are linked to each other through different stages of their lives and these relationships are an important source of social connection.

A family is an integral part of the society and a healthy family relationship in all its diverse aspects helps develop emotional and psychological well- being. It develops a feeling of self-worth among the individuals and increases their self-esteem.