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Family Needs and Resources in Home Economics
Families have various needs. But there limited resources to address these needs. It is crucial to figure out how to use the resources so that the most important needs can be met. This has to do with management. Before you can understand how to manage resources, you need to be aware of the types of resources there are and what each person and family needs.
What is Family Needs?
Family needs are those things that are important and essential for the family’s physical, emotional, mental and social well-being.
While Wants, can be refered to those things which the family desire especially if they are not essential for the health and well-being of that particularly family
Needs and Wants: It’s crucial to tell the difference between what you need and what you want. Wants are items you want but aren’t necessary for your health and joy and fulfillment.
Basic clothes can be referred to as a NEED, while excess clothes are a WANT. A family who needs to get around might buy an inexpensive car. When they start making more money, they might want to buy more expensive cars in numbers.
Types Of Needs
1. Basic or primary needs
Basic necessities are highly vital things that a family can’t live without. These are the items that every family needs to stay alive. Among them are:
- Food: Getting the appropriate kind of food is important for excellent health and staying alive.
- Housing: Every family needs a suitable home to safeguard them in many ways.
- Clothing: Everyone in a family needs appropriate basic clothing to keep them safe, protected and comfortable.
- Health Care: Care for your health: Your health is crucial. Every family has to take care of their own health.
2. Secondary Needs
These are the things that the family wants. They don’t matter as much as the main needs. So, the family doesn’t need the secondary needs to live. They are the things that everyone in the family craves. They depend on how wealthy or poor the family is.
Recreation, a personal allowance or pocket money for each family member, extra clothes, a family automobile, etc., are all examples of secondary needs.
Family Resources
Families have resources when they have things they can use to meet their needs and attain their goals. The family has a variety of resources to use
Classification Of Resources
There are numerous ways to put resources into categories. The easiest method to do this is to divide them into two groups:
- Human Resources
- Non-human or material resources..
- There are additional things like natural resources
Human Resources
These are resources that a person already has. They are different for each person. Among them are:
• Knowledge
i. This is everything that a person has seen, learnt, or remembered. One example is knowing how to do the laundry for the household.
• Skills
Skills are a set of particular abilities that let a person do certain things well. Some examples of abilities are being able to draw, craft, cook, write, clean, and bake.
• Imagination
Imagination is the mind’s ability to think of new and useful things. The mind makes pictures that can’t be seen or felt. By imagining how to solve an issue, you can think through a scenario before you act.
• Energy
This is what gives you the power to do things. The food you eat gives you power. Work is done by using energy.
• Time
Time is used to get other things done so that goals can be reached. Every day has 24 hours, which means that everyone has the same amount of time.
Material Or Non-Human Resources
These are things that exist outside of humans but that the family may influence, possess, or use. Money and things that belong to a family are the two basic categories of material resources.
• Possessions
Things that a family possesses and can employ to reach some goals are called possessions. The things a family possesses could be put into:
- Things that last for a long period and don’t get used up quickly. They last a long time. Examples are furniture, car, buildings, and gadgets.
- Things that are used up quickly, like pens, Food, clothes, paper, pens, etc. If you manage these things well, they will last longer.
• Money
Money is a very significant resource that can be used to buy almost anything, including other resources. We use money to figure out how much things are worth.
Other Non-Human Resources Resources The Family Can Use
There are infrastructure, buildings, institutions, and organizations within every community. In the following ways, these help families:
- To get better at what they do.
- To solve each other problems.
- To appreciate life.
Some other examples include: Schools, libraries, government offices, churches, mosques, healthcare facilities, parks, stores, marketplaces, the post office, public transportation, roads, etc. are all part of the community’s resources.
Natural Resources
Air, water, land, creatures of all kinds, plants, and minerals. These are things that we can find in our environment.
Characteristics Of Resources
Utility
This suggests that resources have some worth or value. This means they can be used for manufacturing goods and offer services.
Accessibility
This means that the resources needed to reach the goal must be on hand or in reserve.
Interchangeability
A resource is interchangeable if it can be swapped out for another in order to fulfill a goal.
Manageability
All resources can be handled in some way. This implies that they can be controlled so that goals can be met.
