Importance of home economics to individuals, families, and nations
Home economics helps people to maintain their homes and organize their lives. This term was formerly used to describe female domestic work, but nowadays, the definition of home economics has been expanded due to the increased influence of households on the national economy. In this article, we would try to explain the importance of home economics in the everyday life of Nigerians.
Definition of home economics
From the very beginning, home economics has been a study about the management of the home, family and community. In layman’s terms, we can use the term "housekeeping" to describe home economics, which literally means working to maintain the livelihoods of people living in a house or apartment. Traditionally, women are mostly the ones who engage in housekeeping, and those women who do not work outside the home are called housewives.
Today, the family’s economy plays a more important role that is not limited to housekeeping. The family is the smallest part of society, which is united not only by blood-related and marital ties but also by economic relations. To satisfy the needs of their homes, families map out time for domestic work and rest, organize everyday life activities, prepare meals and set out processes of receiving goods and services.
The mini-economy of the family involves all available resources of this social cell, especially its properties. The property of the family includes things like:
- An apartment
- A house and a household plot
- A summer residence
- A garden plot
- Vehicles
- Furniture
- Money and jewelry
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Home economics in households
Nowadays, households are one of the most important subjects of economic activities. Their results depend not only on the well-being of their single unit, but also on the whole nation. Just like commercial enterprises and the government, households participate in all economic processes.
Simply put, a household is a unit that is run by one or more persons living together and having a common budget. The household unites all employees, owners of material capital, land, securities that are engaged and not engaged in the production process. A household is a concept that is broader than the family, and unlike the family, households includes more than just relatives and can consist of one, two or more members.
In the modern economy, the household plays the main role in the social production and spread of goods and services. In different historical periods, depending on the spirit of social relations, the place and role, structure and functions, magnitude and sustainability, rights and responsibilities, position in society or the socioeconomic status of the household have changed.
The household economy is a complex phenomenon of human activities that are constantly changing with time, and it is quite difficult to take the entire spectrum of phenomena and processes occurring within it into account.
The modern household is characterized by heterogeneity, complexity, dynamism and processes occurring in it. In the postindustrial society, the character of economic relations has changed, as well as the role of man in the modern economic system.
Role of home economics in modern life
The connection between home economics and households is obvious. You cannot run a successful property without some basic skills of householding. Human activities keep getting more intense and complex, so the main motive for the development of a household is not the multiplication of wealth, but the desire for self-expression in the creative activities of each member. Factors of everyday life such as security, freedom and justice remain most important to them.
Today in Nigeria, without the development of households, a holistic perception of the country's economy is impossible. This suggests that households play a large role in the development of the country and proves the need to study their place and role in the modern economy.
The place of households in the expansion of market relations is determined by the following tips:
- Households provide the needed level of consumer demand, without which the market mechanism would not be functional.
- Household savings are a channel of investment which is very important in developing economies.
- Households supply the market with production resources (entrepreneurial ability and labor).
- The household is a required factor for product creation and realization of human capital.
- The ability of households to establish a family business contributes not only to the growth of personal wealth but also to the development of a market economy as a whole.
Households, just like firms and states, play an important role in the movement of resources, income and goods. Households are owners of resources that come in the form of factor services to firms. The payment for resources serves as a material basis for household incomes and is used to purchase consumer goods and services created by firms. The movement of resource flows, cash, as well as goods and services is carried out constantly within households.
Consequently, the households supply firms and the state with production resources like labor, natural, capital and entrepreneurial skills; and a household cannot be run successfully without the use of knowledge obtained from home economics. This suggests that we have to pay more attention to home economics and encourage its study.
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Source: Legit.ng
