A dysfunctional family is a family that is unstable and full of conflicts that has an impact on the family members later on in life. These conflicts include alcohol or drug abuse, domestic violence, unemployment, gambling, etc.

Human beings need to be loved the right way to survive. From birth, we rely on our parents to love us enough to keep us alive, and if our parents show us the right kind of love, we turn out as better human beings overall.

If we’re neglected, we end up being incapable of anything meaningful in life since there’s always a feeling of something missing. Having a dysfunctional family is becoming more rampant here in Kenya.

Signs of a dysfunctional family

• Addiction: You will find one or multiple people in a household repeatedly using alcohol or any other drug.

• Communication problems: Dysfunctional family members may not talk as often as they should, and some have difficulty listening to each other. In other cases, there is a lot of yelling from parents or siblings.

• Constant criticism: Children are constantly criticized for their actions, lack of certain abilities, or constant teasing about their looks.

• No emotional support: There is no safe space provided for a child to express their emotions since the adults don’t talk or show any emotion

Effects of growing up in a dysfunctional family

• Low self-esteem: Young children believe what their parents tell them. When you grow up in a home where you were insulted or constantly reminded that you’re not enough, as you grow older, you might believe some of them to be true, making it hard for someone to be confident.

• Deprived or denied quality education: Most broken families might have financial problems. In most cases, it’s usually one parent working so there are not enough funds. This leads to the children experiencing lower levels of education or no education at all.

• Increased risks of alcohol or drug abuse: growing up around people with addiction may affect the child later. He or she might find it okay to use what they saw their parents use because that is what they grew up watching.

• Problems with depression and mental health issues: Children belonging to families where parents have a mental illness might struggle with depression due to the feeling of hopelessness and helplessness from the isolation they get, which affects their psychological development.

• Learn violence: If a child grows up in a family where violence is paramount, they risk having similar behaviour patterns. Some end up picking fights with their peers, and as adults, they might treat their partners and kids the way their parents did, which is why domestic violence cases have increased.

Conclusion

A child from a dysfunctional family struggles in adulthood due to a lack of emotional stability. Education is just the first step on our path to improving emotional wellness and mental health. Therefore measures should be taken to ensure that children grow up to be healthy and stable emotionally since family plays a very important role in child development and behaviour.