How does family influence one's decisions?

Priya and Ashok struggle with the decisions that they've made about their children and their ability to protect them. Deepa struggles with reconciling her parents' sacrifices with the society in which she was raised, Maya struggles with fitting in—in more ways than one. How does family influence your decisions? How has your own family influenced your decisions?

One is brought up with values instilled from their family life. Those values are accepted as correct and normal because the child knows nothing different at the time. Deepa's personality is more questioning and she's open to see other options. Maya wants to fit in and be accepted, more in line with her parent's beliefs. My German heritage taught me values of hard work, but stifled openly showing feelings.

Our family beliefs are what we SEE, HEAR, and MIMIC. We are taught these beliefs are the correct way to treat people or think a particular way. As we age, leave our homes, read more, educate ourselves, we may broaden to other beliefs and perhaps feel differently.

I don’t have kids, but I think often the expectation of parents is that their kids will have the same values and beliefs that they do. When they learn that they don’t, that’s a hard thing to accept. “How can my kid do/believe X? That’s not how I raised them.”

And it’s equally challenging for the kids. Both Deepa and Maya rebeled in their own way.

The way we behave is the way we were brought up, until those ways are challenged. I have frequently found myself reassessing my thoughts and actions, when I realize that (for better or worse), I am doing something because of the way my family did it.

Family influence can make children grow up feeling entitled. Young men in decades past could avoid the draft if their families had the right connections, and that usually required money and social status. We all could probably go on and on about rude boorish politicians.