I remember when I was teaching my pupils what is family and I told them that family is a group of people related by blood. This is the universal definition of family, it doesn't change. Just that the higher you go in class the more complex the English will become but it still means the same thing.
Family is one of the important part of our lives, right from when we were born till when we grow old. Family teaches us different things such as how to talk, walk, behave and as well as treat others. I think the kind of family we grow up in will shape who we become.
If one grows up in a family where they love and care for each other, that person will grow up loving and caring for people but when someone grows up around anger, hate, fight and all negative things, the person might end up becoming like that.
Family also teaches us values, things like kindness, respect, hardwork and others are what we learn from our family. When one grows in a family that believes in helping others, we will grow up being helpful. Even the way we solve problems will also be affected, for instance if parents solved problems in violence, the child will grow up solving problems that way but if parents solve problems with love and talking calmly, the child will emulate it.
Just as humans are not perfect, families are not also perfect. A lot of people grow up without parents, or in families where viloence was the order of the day and for this they want to do better. And even if we decide to be different from our parents, that simple decision was still as a result of what we saw growing up.
Family is and will always be the first teacher of every child's life and the lessons we learn from them will always stay with us.
Images are mine.