THE 10 MOST IMPORTANT BASIC FAMILY NEEDS - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

Some of the most important basic needs of the family are housing, good nutrition, affection or protection. The family is considered the basic nucleus of society. It is the basic unit of development and experience of the members of a group, as well as of accomplishment and failure. No person can live in isolation.

During the first years of life, a person's socialization occurs almost exclusively with family members. And that is why it serves as the first educational space for people.

In essence, the family takes care of two things. First to ensure physical survival and second to build what is essentially human in man.

This means that the family nucleus is obliged to satisfy the basic needs of its members, which range from basic biological needs vital to survive to those that guarantee the development of human qualities.

The top 10 basic needs of the family

1- Food

Food is one of the biological needs that the family must cover. It is one of the fundamental pillars for people's health and even more so when it comes to children.

Although food is a basic necessity for life, in addition to an inalienable right of individuals, the act of eating goes beyond feeding to survive.

The act of eating should be a moment of communication between family members, the moment in which bonds are created, traditions and affection are transmitted. On the other hand, by satisfying this need, the family not only learns to eat but also creates the habit of eating.

This interaction allows the family to become much more integrated. In fact, food is closely related to affection. This means that the way food is offered has an influence on the habits and ideas developed by members of a family group.

2- Care and protection

A family also needs security and care. The members of a family, whether they are children, adults or the elderly, with or without particular health conditions, need to be protected.

This care is vital when it comes to newborns. The family must be able to guarantee the survival of the smallest and most defenseless and this is achieved through constant care and assistance.

This need is also directly related to food. And it is that being this the fundamental pillar of health, well-being depends a lot on it.

When we talk about care and protection we talk about meeting the physical and health needs of the individuals that make up a family. The response to the demands of care depends on the access that families have to the resources that allow them to satisfy them.

It also depends on the level of knowledge these people have. That is, it is not only enough to know that you have access to certain services but also to know how to use them for your own benefit.

3- Housing

Housing is one of the fundamental elements to guarantee human dignity. Therefore it is one of the basic needs of the family. Access to housing is considered an essential human right. This means that everyone has the right to have an adequate standard of living that ensures a place to live.

As the family is the fundamental cell of every society, having a home is one of the pillars that cannot be absent.

A society in which families do not have the possibility of accessing and having a space to live in is not sustainable. That is why housing is then an essential element for the construction of a society.

4- Education

The first space of education of any person is within the family. The most important education is the one that children receive from their parents. These are the direct educators of the children. It is necessary to remember that the family must be a formative nucleus so that its members can enter society correctly.

Human beings are social beings by nature. This is why it could be said that children are the new recruits of society. Their social development depends directly on the education they receive at home. The family is also the first means by which culture is transmitted from generation to generation.

5- Affection

Another of the basic needs of the family is affection. It is essential that it be able to satisfy the affective needs of each of its members. It turns out that affective security is essential for the personality of individuals to develop harmoniously.

Considered from a psychological point of view, the family must be able to establish a communication network that not only allows its members to unite as a family but also transmit the emotions necessary to satisfy their emotional needs.

The main and priority objective of this network is to allow the child to have normal growth and reach maturity.

6- Reproduction

Talking about family is inevitably talking about reproduction. Without this element the revitalization of society and the survival of the human species would not be possible.

Therefore, reproduction becomes one of the main needs of the family. Likewise, it is the duty of family leaders to provide children with suitable models so that they can develop their sexual identity.

Within the family is where each individual learns the characteristics of each sex. It does this mainly through the identification of parental figures.

For this reason, it is essential that parents are very clear about the functions that correspond to them, as well as their respective roles within the family group.

7- Communication

Communication is an essential element in the family. Therefore it is considered as a basic need. And it is thanks to communication that each of the needs within the family nucleus can be satisfied.

Without communication, the members of a family would not be able to transmit the different messages necessary to maintain the proper structure of the group.

These messages, whether verbal or paraverbal, convey different actions and emotions such as help, authority, affection, and understanding.

On the other hand, each family group has its own language, common to its members because it is based on their ethnic and socio-cultural characteristics. This language is unintelligible to an observer oblivious to the reality of said family.

8- Adaptability

Another basic family need that is essential is the ability to adapt. It is important to keep in mind that the family is a dynamic group.

This is basically due to the fact that it must maintain internal relationships with its members and external relationships with its environment, which can be social, educational or work.

Being exposed to these different environments means that the family must adapt in order to respond to each of the stimuli that is presented to it. The family usually lives in a process of constant transformation. This evolution has a lot to do with the different stages that occur in the life cycle.

These can be the birth of a child, the problem of the "empty nest", a change of job, a financial crisis, among other things. Faced with these changes, the family must be able to have a sense of adaptability

9- Autonomy

Autonomy is a key element within the family. Although this is made up of several people, it is necessary to remember that each of them has their own personality and identity.

This means that belonging to a group does not have to limit the power of individual autonomy. Each member of the family needs to have a certain degree of Independence, as this is what will facilitate their growth and maturation.

However, the family must know how to dose this 'independence'. In the first years of life, this autonomy must be established through mechanisms that make it possible to mark clear limits between what is dependency and independence.

These limits must be marked within the family group and also with regard to the social environment in which individuals operate. In this way, the integrity of each person is maintained, creating a balance between what is allowed and what is prohibited.

10- Rules and regulations

As an institution in charge of forging new members of a society, the family must establish rules and norms of behavior.

This is what will allow to maintain an order and a harmonious behavior between each one of the people who make up a home. However, it should be noted that there are no specific rules that families must follow.

Each family group can have its own rules, which although not written, are clearly established by the leading members.

The individuals belonging to each group are, in general, the only ones capable of recognizing and identifying them. Through these norms, authority is exercised and patterns of conduct are created where respect and personality are put into practice.

References

1. Solórzano, M; Brandt, C. (undated). Familiology. Ibero-American Confederation of Family Medicine. Recovered from medicosfamiliares.com.
2. López, M. (2003). Analysis of the characteristics and needs of families with gifted children. Complutense University of Madrid. Spain. Recovered from library.ucm.es.
3. Ayala, R. (2010). Housing: a need and a human right. Recovered from alainet.org.