FAMILY NEEDS AND RESOURCES

Family needs are many. The resources for meeting these needs are however limited. It is necessary to find ways of using the resources so that the important needs are satisfied. This involves management. Before you learn how to manage the resources, you must know the different types of resources and needs of the individuals and families.

 

Family needs

Needs are things that are essential, that is, very important for your health. The family members have physical, emotional mental and social needs.

Needs and wants: It is important to differentiate between needs and wants. Wants are those things you desire though they are not essential for your health and well-being. Basic clothing is a need for survival, but extra clothing is want. A family may have a need for transport and buy a small car. When they make more money, they may want or desire to buy a bigger car.

 

Types of needs

A) Basic or primary needs: These are very important needs which the family cannot do without.

They are those things which every family must have for survival.

They include:

1. Food: Provision of the right kind of food is very important food good health and survival.
2. Housing: Every family requires a good shelter for different kinds of protection.
3. Clothing: Every family member requires good basic clothing for protection.
4. Health care: Health is very important. Every family must provide the health care needs.

 

B) Secondary needs: These are those things the family wants. They are not as important as the primary needs. The family can therefore exist without the secondary needs. They are those things the family desires. They depend on the socio-economic status of the family. The secondary needs include, recreation, personal allowance or pocket money for family members, extra clothing, family car, etc.

 

Family resources

Resources are those things which the families can use to meet their needs and reach their goals. The family has different types of resources.

 

Classification of resources

There are different ways of classifying resources. The simplest way is to group them into two classes as:

• Human and
• Non-human or material resources.

There are also natural resources.

 

Human resources

These are resources which exist within an individual. They are personal to each individual. They include:

1. Knowledge: this includes everything a person has observed, learned and remembers. Example is knowledge of how to launder the family clothes.
2. Skills: these are a special set of abilities that allow a person to perform certain tasks well .. Examples of skills are drawing, sewing, cooking, writing, cleaning, and baking.
3. Imagination: This is the ability of the mind to be creative and resourceful. The mind forms images that are not present to the senses. By working through a problem in your imagination, you can think through a situation before you act.
4. Energy: This is the power that helps you get things done. Energy comes from the food you eat. Energy is used to do work.
5. Time: Time is used with other resources to reach goals. Everyone has the same amount of time, that is, 24 hours each day.

 

Material or Non-human resources

These are resources that exist outside people but can be controlled owned or used by the family.

The two main types of material resources are family possessions and money.

A) Possessions: These are the things the family owns, which they can use to attain some goals. Family possessions could be grouped into:

1. Those possessions that last a long time and are not used up readily. They are durable. Examples are furniture, car, houses, and appliances.
2. Those possessions that are used up quickly, e.g. food, clothes, paper, pen, etc. managing these possessions carefully will give them longer useful life.

 

B) Money: This is a very important resource which can be used to buy most things, including other resources. Money is used to measure the value of the goods we have.

 

Other resources the family can use

Community resources:

Every community has people, facilities, institutions and organizations. These help families in the following ways:

1. to improve their skills.
2. to solve their problems.
3. to enjoy life.

The community resources include, schools, libraries, government agencies, churches, mosques, hospitals, parks, shops, markets, post office, mass transit, roads, etc.

 

Natural resources

These are air, water, land, plants, animals and minerals. These are found in our surroundings or environment.

 

Characteristics of resources

1. Utility: This means that resources have value or worth. This means, that they can be applied for producing good and services.
2. Accessibility: This means that resources must exist on hand or in reserve for goal attainment.
3. Interchangeability: A resource is interchangeable when it can be substituted with another resource in the attend to reach goals.
4. Manageability: All resources are to some degree manageable. This means that they can be to control for the purpose of achieving goals.