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Impacts of Child Poverty
Contributory factors tht leads to poverty
Cause and effect of poverty
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About one in five children in the United States has the misfortune of living in a family whose income is below the official poverty threshold (Borman and Reimers 454). Poverty has harmful effects on a child’s academic outcomes, general health, development, and school readiness. The impact of poverty has on a child depends on many factors for instance community features ( crime rate in neighborhood and school characteristics) and the individuals present in the child’s life like their parents, neighbors, or relatives. It is clear that schools and outside environmental factors contribute to whether a child is successful or not in their academic life. A child’s family, neighborhood, and type of school effects that are related with poverty positions the child to be at considerable risk for neglecting school and failing in life in general; however, there are educational programs that can help give children a poverty a fair chance in succeeding in life and in school.
Poverty is the state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support; condition of being poor (Dictionary.com). Living in poverty can affect a family’s well-being because it is a reliable predictor of child abuse and neglect. The effects of poverty on children are influenced by their families’ behavior. Low–income families usually have limited education which decreases their capability to provide a motivating and encouraging environment for their children. For example, children from low-income families learn and speak the language that is used at home which often is not English and are less likely to be well read then their better off counterparts. The situation of poverty is a repeated cycle that reoccurs because the parents do not recognize the signi...
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Fusaro, Maria. "Usable Knowledge: Easy as ABC: Quality Childcare Matters for Low-income Families." Usable Knowledge: Easy as ABC: Quality Childcare Matters for Low-income Families. Usable Knowledge, 2009. Web. 08 Apr. 2014.
Perkins, Jessica. "An Underrated Road out of Poverty: Saving Money." Global Envision Latest Stories. N.p., 24 Apr. 2013. Web. 09 Apr. 2014.
"Poverty." Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 08 Apr. 2014.
Wodtke, Geoffrey T., Felix Elwert, and David J. Harding. Poor Families, Poor Neighborhoods: How Family Poverty Intensifies the Impact of Concentrated Disadvantage on High School Graduation. Rep. no. 12-776. Population Studies Center, Sept. 2012. Web. 8 Apr. 2014.
Allhusen, V., Belsky, J., Booth-LaForce, C., Bradley, R., Brownell, C. A., Burchinal, M., & ... Weinraub, M. (2005). Duration and Developmental Timing of Poverty and Children's Cognitive and Social Development from Birth Through Third Grade. Child Development, 76(4), 795-810. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2005.00878.x
This would lead to higher grades, test scores, school attendance, decreased use of drugs and alcohol, and lower rates of suspension and dropping out (What Research). With his parents not around to support him, he lacked the necessary moral compass, decision making, and social skills needed to succeed not only in school, but in the world. Many kids have the same parental situation as Holden, also with similar results. -----Family participation in education was twice as predictive of students ' academic success as family socioeconomic status. Some of the more intensive programs had effects that were 10 times greater than other factors” (What Research). Increased parental involvement could be the first step to breaking the cycle of poor education and poverty. Poor students are at a much higher risk of not having parental involvement, which draws a clear parallel to these students and Holden
“Recent research consistently reports that persistent poverty has more detrimental effects on IQ, school achievement, and socio-emotional functioning than transitory poverty, with children experiencing both types of poverty doing less well than never-poor children. Higher rates of perinatal complications, reduced access to resources that buffers the negative effects of perinatal complications, increased exposure to lead, and less home-based cognitive stimulation partly account for diminished cognitive functioning in poor children. These factors, along with lower teacher expectancies and poorer academic readiness skills, also appear to contribute to lower levels of school achievement among poor children. The link between socioeconomic
Laden, Greg. "Children from Low-income Families at Educational Disadvantage." Science Blog. N.p., 26 Dec. 2008. Web. 8 Jan. 2014.
Yoshikawa, H., Aber, J. L., & Beardslee, W. R. (2012). The effects of poverty on the mental, emotional, and behavioral health of children and youth: Implications for prevention. American Psychologist, 67(4), 272.
Johnson, Allan. "Why Is There Poverty?." Allan G. Johnson. N.p.. Web. 1 Dec 2013. .
Yoshikawa, H., Aber, J. L., & Beardslee, W. R. (2012). The effects of poverty on the mental, emotional, and behavioral health of children and youth: Implications for prevention. American Psychologist, 67(4), 272.
The individual most harshly affected by poverty are those who are the most powerless to do anything about it--children. Research indicates that extreme poverty in the first five years of life alters a child’s chances in life compared to lesser degrees of poverty in later life. This is the result of several key factors. The first problem associated with poverty is poor nutrition. It has been proven that poor nutrition leads to lower intelligence, poor physical development, and diminished immunity to disease. “Children deprived of proper nutrition during the brain’s most formative years score much lower on tests of vocabulary, reading comprehension, arithmetic, and general knowledge. The more severe the poverty a child faces, the lower his or her nutritional level is likely to be (Brown and Pollitt 38-43).” Government assistance to poor families such as WIC help; however, the guidelines for eligibility fall woefully short of making sure that every child has adequate nutrition. As stated previously, the federal guidelines for poverty are ludicrous when applied to real world economics. To further complicate matters, guidelines used by agencies such as the United States Department of Health and Human Services serve to painfully remind the poor that they are a nuisance to be eliminated. A child that goes to school hungry, even if not malnourished, will have greater difficulty focusing their efforts than a well fed one. An individual who is hungry will eventually become hypoglycemic, a condition in which blood sugar levels fall. The symptoms of hypoglycemia range from fatigue, sleepiness, irritability, headache, and decreased mental alertness. Many children that are perceived as ...
Poverty affects a child’s educational outcomes beginning in the earliest years of life, both directly and indirectly. School readiness has been recognized as playing a unique role in escape from poverty in the United States and increasingly in developing countries. The driving forces in poverty are Survival, relationships, and entertainment. These are critical elements that make up the poverty alleviation strategy. This essay reviews the interventions needed to improve school readiness of children in poverty, and provides recommendations for helping them further their driving forces.
Often the only way to get out of poverty is to get an education that can provide them with a job that meets their income needs. If a child’s school achievement is affected by poverty, they have a higher chance of dropping out and continuing poverty in their generation. Effects of school achievement are measured by if the child has repeated a grade, suspended or expelled, and/or dropped out before graduating. Many children that live in poverty will repeat a grade due to limit educational tools to provide them with practice at home. If the child has behavior problem, then they may be expelled for acting out or misbehaving, this affects their learning because they are not in class learning. The percentage of children living poverty that are affected by school achievement outcomes are 2-3 times greater than children not living in poverty. Emotional or behavior outcomes are measured by tantrums, outbursts and aggression, which persist beyond the normal age range expected. Poor children suffer from emotional and/or behavior outcomes more often than children living in non-poverty. Many of these effects are displayed at school and at home, occasionally in public places such as the mall, and cause lots of disturbances such as violence. Emotional problems also include internal problems such as anxiety and depression, which can cause the child to disassociate themselves from social opportunities. These children are often thought
Poverty is “the inability to acquire enough money to meet basic needs including food, clothing and shelter” (Gosselin,2009). This social disadvantage limits one’s ability to receive a quality education and it is a constant problem throughout the world accompanied with“deleterious impacts on almost all aspects of family life and outcomes for children”(Ravallion,1992). Poverty is a main factor that affects normal human growth and development in a variety of ways, primarily impacting children’s early development, social behaviour, health, and self worth.
From past studies, researchers associate better outcomes in education with higher levels of income (Phipps and Lethbridge). Low income potentially causes many different negative outcomes. Poverty elevates the level of stress to in children, affects their cognitive functioning, deprives them of enthusiasm and hope, affects their behavior and general performance in academics. A human resource Canadian study focusing on school dropouts reported that children from low income households were more likely to leave schooling without
Socioeconomic status can be defined in terms of family wealth and assets as well as educational background. For this reason, many comparisons can be made between socioeconomic status and education. Furthermore, academic achievement and the level of education reached by an individual, is determined by socioeconomic status. Research has shown that environmental circumstances and family issues greatly influence a child's future because the impact of the socioeconomic status depends on the level to which an individual becomes successful in life. Research also shows that family conditions can impact a child’s education and their quality of life. For example, being raised in a high-economic culture increases the chances that a child will attend
With poor environmental conditions and lack of resources, young people will struggle more than middle-class children with school performance and physical health. Poverty leaves a lasting negative impact on children. Even when someone escapes the poverty cycle, the damaging effects are “often carried into adulthood regardless of improved financial situation” (Repka). Without high finances or good housing, a child can be damaged for
Poverty is a major problem in the United States today. Social, economical, political, and cultural factors all contribute to poverty. Education and economic development are two major issues that will help prevent poverty. The United States Census Bureau defines poverty as an "economic condition in which people lack sufficient income to obtain basic needs for food, housing, clothing, health services and education." In other words, poverty is powerlessness, a lack of representation and freedom. Poverty is an issue that the world faces everyday.