What is Family Culture?

The family is the first social group to which we belong in our lives. It is in it where we configure our own identity and a vision of the particular world. Our relatives often represent the firm foundation thanks to which it is possible to grow, develop and face life with a feeling of security. The bonds that are formed within the family system are the reference model which will later guide our future relationships, so that everything we experience in it is relevant to our well-being.

Within the home we are understanding who we are and what is expected of us. Although our way of relating to the family can evolve, the foundations remain the same throughout the life trajectory. Families are always subject to constant change, as they are dealing with external influences, moments of crisis and stages that drive their reorganization.

As the expression says: “each one belongs to his father and his mother”. Beyond being a popular saying, the reality is that although we all trace our own life path, we always carry something of our family within us. Our parents, siblings, grandparents, uncles... teach us a series of

values that shape our way of understanding life.

The set of beliefs, habits, customs, roles and codes that we inherit from our family make up what is known as family culture.

In this article we will talk in detail about family culture and everything that it implies.

• Related article: "What is Cultural Psychology?"

family functions

The truth is that human beings organize ourselves into families because this system is highly beneficial. The family as a system fulfills key functions for the development and survival of individuals. Among them, the following stand out:

• Identification: The family helps us build an identity and a concept of who we are. Positioning yourself in the world and having a sense of self is impossible if you don't have people around you to interact with.
• Education: Our family is also key to acquiring essential learning to live in a society. Issues as elementary as talking or walking would not be feasible if nobody teaches us how to do it from the earliest childhood.
• Communication: In our home we learn to communicate. The family allows us to acquire a mother tongue, handle certain codes and develop well in interactions.
• Socialization: As we already mentioned, the family is the first social group to which we belong in our lives. Thanks to the first links with our parents, siblings, grandparents... we managed to learn some basic notions to be able to relate to the outside world.
• Care and protection: Family helps us feel safe. It is something like our tribe, and as such it protects and covers us. Although in maturity we leave the family of origin to trace our path, this is a secure base to which we can return if we need it.
• Affection: Beyond the practical benefits, our family is an inexhaustible source of affection and love. Feeling loved is essential to fully develop.
• Economy: The family is key as an organizational unit within an economic system. Families are the basis that allows the maintenance of nations.
• Reproduction: The family is necessary to be able to perpetuate the species. In addition to reproduction, it also favors the symbolic transmission of the family legacy through knowledge, traditions, customs, etc.
• Rules and Limits: No family can function properly without rules and standards of behavior. The family system is organized as a small society in which having rules allows maintaining order.
• Emancipation: The family is offers a security context that makes it possible for us to explore our own autonomy.
• Transmission of values: the family is key to transmitting values ​​that allow a just and healthy society, such as tolerance, respect, empathy or solidarity.

What is family culture?

Of all the functions associated with the family, the transmission of values ​​is the most related to the so-called family culture.

Family culture refers to the set of codes, mandates, customs, beliefs and purposes that define the unit of people that make up a family system. The family is organized as a kind of miniature society, where a series of rules govern life together.

On the other hand, family culture It is an inheritance that is passed down from generation to generation., although it may undergo some modifications as a result of influences from abroad. However, even if there are some changes, the system always seeks to preserve a state of equilibrium or homeostasis.

The culture of a family determines its lifestyle, its habits, vocabulary, responsibility, hygiene, tastes and interests... and a long etcetera. For better or worse, the family influences the person we become and the life we ​​build. Thus, the probability of success and health is closely related to the climate in which we have been raised since childhood.

Thus, if we have been raised in an overprotective family environment, perhaps we will show a tendency to live in fear of taking risks and facing the unknown.

How is family culture expressed?

Family culture can be expressed in many different ways. Mainly, it becomes evident through the following manifestations.

1. beliefs and ideology

Our family It is the environment where we internalize a series of beliefs about ourselves, relationships and the world in general.. Many times unconsciously, we integrate certain schemes that make us perceive reality from a particular point of view. Although when we reach maturity we can review these beliefs, we assume many ideas that we hold as our own when they have really been the result of an external influence.

2. Codes and standards

The family also teaches us a series of rules that tell us what is correct and what is not. Through them, behavior is channeled according to the vision of the members. These norms are assumed as irrefutable truths at an early age. However, over time children may begin to question and modify them.

3. Customs and traditions

The family is also the environment where a series of customs and traditions are transmitted. It is at home where we are taught basic habits that govern daily life, as well as religious practices and customs linked to folklore. These symbolic teachings are related to the feeling of belonging, to identification with a particular community.

4. Values

The family it is also key in the transmission of values. Values ​​are something like the compass that guides us on the path of life, they are those essential things to which we give importance and a central position in our existence.

The values ​​that we internalize are, generally, those that our relatives show us. Among them can be found love, respect, effort, empathy, justice... The weight that each value has in families can vary enormously. In some homes, tremendous importance is given to aspects such as love, while in others there is a strong culture of effort and responsibility.

Values ​​are much more important than it may seem a priori. The type of values ​​we have greatly influences our way of feeling, thinking and acting in different scenarios of life.

5. Goals

All families have goals that guide their way of functioning.. There are families in which, for example, everything ends up diverting to the goal of success and appearance. On the other hand, in others it is considered a central purpose to achieve harmony and well-being on a day-to-day basis.

conclusions

In this article we have talked about family culture. Family culture refers to the set of beliefs, values, customs, goals, codes... that govern the life of a particular family.

The family is the first social group to which we belong in our lives. As such, its importance is enormous. It is in it that we form a particular vision of the world and of ourselves. It is in our home that we are taught how the world works and how things should be. According to this, our attitude towards life will be one way or another.

The family exists as an organizational system because of all the important functions it performs. Our family not only offers us physical and material support. It is also key when it comes to preparing us for life in society, teaching us, helping us to build their own identity, have limits and rules or simply maintain the perpetuation of the species. Of all its functions, the transmission of values ​​is the one that is most closely related to what we call family culture.

Family culture often manifests itself in many different ways. Through beliefs, our relatives make us internalize a series of ideas about the world and life. Also through certain rules and codes they tell us what is right and what is wrong according to their criteria. Added to this, the family is key to transmitting between generations certain cultural practices associated with the folklore of the place. In addition, it is at home where we integrate some fundamental values ​​as a compass for life itself. Finally, the family teaches us which goals are a priority and which take a backseat.