Basic Needs Evaluation

What eating together as a family means for you:
Balanced and nutritious meals contain a variety of foods from all of the main food groups, and are important to maintain energy levels for learning. A good rule of thumb for a balanced meal is that half of your plate should contain a variety of fruits and vegetables, both cooked and raw, while ¼ of your plate should contain protein, such as a three ounce serving (about the size of one chicken drumstick) of meat or fish and the other ¼ should contain a serving of whole grains, such as brown rice or starchy foods like potatoes. Mealtimes are also a great time for family bonding. Families who eat at least one meal together each day eat healthier meals and raise children who develop healthier eating habits_¹, better language skills_², earn better grades in school_³, and who are much less likely to have eating disorders_⁴, be obese_⁵, or take drugs_⁶.

How will your family benefit from limiting TV and video games?
The American Association of Pediatrics recommends no more than two hours a day for children over two years old and no television viewing for children under two^₇. An educational TV show every once in a while will not cause any permanent damage to a one-year-old child, but there are definite links to attention problems in children who have been exposed to violent media content while under the age of three^₈. Media is a very powerful influencing factor with teens as well. Unsupervised and unrestricted musical content and "screen time" including television, computer, and video games, can bring unwanted influences into our homes. Some other things to consider are that unrestricted media exposure is linked to childhood obesity^₉, lower grades in school^₁₀, learning difficulties^₁₁, less social interaction and less imaginative and active play^₁₂, teen smoking^₁₃, use of illegal drugs^₁₄, and early sexual activity^₁₅.

What can I do if we do not have heath or dental insurance?
If you meet low income guidelines, you can qualify for Medicaid. You can apply for Medicaid at you local workforce services, or go to http://health.utah.gov/medicaid/ to apply online. If you qualify for Medicaid, there are several other great programs that can help you too. If you are pregnant or have small children, Baby Your Baby can help with the cost of your medical care throughout your pregnancy, and WIC can help with the cost of formula and making sure that moms and their little ones have the best nutrition for their unique needs. Another program, Utah's Premium Partnership for Health Insurance (UPP) will help you pay for insurance premiums if insurance is offered by your employer. If you do not qualify for Medicaid, and you have no health insurance available, you can apply for CHIP, which is health insurance for your children only, or Utah's Primary care Network (PCN) which can provide low cost coverage for family members between the ages of 16 and 64. If you have family members who are 65 or older, you can check to see if they qualify for Medicare.

How do I know if my family is getting enough sleep?
Getting enough sleep is important to your health because it boosts your immune system, and makes your body better able to fight disease. Sleep is also needed for your nervous system to work properly. Too little sleep makes you drowsy and unable to concentrate, and it impairs memory and physical performance.
The amount of sleep you need depends on many factors, especially your age.

• Babies sleep between 16 and 18 hours a day
  • 0-3 months sleep 14 to 16 ½ hours in every 24 hour period
  • 3-9 months, 14 to 15 hours
  • 1 year, 13 ¾ to 14 hours
  • 2 years 12 ¾ to 13 hours
• Preschool children need between 10 and 12 hours of sleep
  • 3 years, 12 to 12 ½ hours
  • 4 years, 11 ½ to 12 hours
  • 5 years, 11 hours
• Older children and teens still need at least nine to 10 hours of sleep
• Adults need seven to eight hours of sleep a night, but for some people it can vary as much as from five to ten hours of sleep .
  • Older adults may need an additional nap during the day
  • Pregnant Women may need a few more hours of sleep

How to establish a morning routine:
A good morning routine includes activities done the night before, as well as activities done in the morning, to help make the morning as un-hurried as possible. Some things that you might do the night before are to make lunches, set out clothing and accessories, and hang coats and backpacks hanging near the door. It is also a good idea to locate shoes the night before so that you do not have to look for them in the morning. In the morning, you can get up an hour before waking up the children so that you will have time to make a good breakfast, and have some time to yourself before the day begins.

Is your home safe for children?
Preventable injury is the number one killer of children in most developed nations. In a single year, more than 14 million children in the US are injured seriously enough to require medical treatment . Making sure that your home is clean and organized, and using a home safety checklist are some of the things that you can do to prevent accidents due to unsafe conditions. Your childcare is an extension of your home, as this is where your child spends a large amount of her time. If your child cries excessively or seems afraid of the caregiver, or if the childcare facility does not meet your standards of cleanliness, or gives you worry in any way, you should not take those feelings lightly. You can also use a childcare provider safety checklist to rate the overall safety of your childcare provider. Discuss any problems that you find with your provider to improve the quality of your child's care.

How important are toys to my child's learning?
Play is essential for learning in children. Toys are the tools of play. Toys do not need to be expensive or fancy to hold a child's attention, and children do not need a lot of toys to be happy. One or two well chosen educational toys are plenty as long as the toys are safe, affordable, and developmentally appropriate. A film can with rice in it can make a good rattle and you can make a simple doll out of an old sock. Which play materials are provided and how they are used are equally important, but also remember that toys are not a substitute for the most important aspect of nurture-warm, loving, dependable relationships^₂₁.

How old should a child be and is spanking ever an appropriate way to discipline?
There is a lot of controversy over discipline and whether spanking is ever an appropriate way to discipline your children. The aim of discipline is to teach and to correct your child. Remember that no discipline at all can be just as harmful as abusive discipline practices and can cause just as much damage in the long run. No matter what approach you take, here are five questions that you can ask yourself to establish clear long term goals and help you decide if a form of punishment will help you get the desired result.

• Is my child purposefully trying to misbehave, or is she just acting out of curiosity or ignorance?
• If she is acting out or misbehaving on purpose, why is she doing it? (Does she feel loved, safe, and secure in her present environment?)
• Will redirection, gentle correction, or a change in his environment be more effective than a punishment this time?
• Is the form of discipline I choose in line with the values I want to teach my child? (Will this form of punishment effectively teach my child not to hit, or to solve problems peacefully?)
• How will the form of discipline that I choose help my child learn, and what will my child learn from it?

Do you feel guilty for taking the "Me Time" that you need to keep yourself energized?
It is too easy to lose yourself in the business of parenting once you have kids but if you don't get the occasional period of parole from parenthood you could end up feeling resentful. . . Part of caring for children means that parents' own needs often get postponed. This is OK up to a point, but as with so many things in life, too much of a good thing can become a problem. To maintain the emotional reserve necessary to care for children, parents need to pay attention to their own needs. Remember that caring for yourself enables you to care best for your children. And when you do this, you also are modeling for your children how to live a balanced life^₂₂.

What does it mean to have "adequate" housing?
According to "A Measure of How Families Are Doing," a family well-being assessment tool developed in 1994 by Iowa State University , families are at risk - as compared to safe or thriving - when they live in temporary housing, move frequently, spend more than 1/3 of their income for shelter, live in deteriorating housing conditions, or feel afraid or unsafe in their homes or neighborhoods. If you find yourself in any of these circumstances, you may not have adequate housing for your family. A rapidly rising number of families are finding themselves in these situations, due to the tight housing market which has driven rental and purchase prices high enough that even families with incomes which would previously have been adequate to provide for stable housing are now unable to live in the communities where they work or where they grew up. Without safe, healthy and appropriate housing, it is much harder for people to be productive members of society, for children to learn, and for families to thrive .