Poverty’s Negative Effects on Child Development
When Leake proposes that the government focuses more on addressing the emotional impact poverty has on tribal children living outside of their communities, he points out the important fact that in order to help poor children, it is essential for the government to not only concentrate on reducing incidence of poverty using social welfare programs but also carry out programs to address the effects of poverty. In order to design programs that target the adverse impact poverty has on children, one must identify the effects of poverty first.
The most widely known negative consequence of child poverty is poor physical health. Infant mortality rate and low birth weight are significant indicators of
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Many poor families cannot provide their children with enough healthy and nutritious food, which impair children’s physical development (Guo and Mullan 433). Many poor children can only afford to eat processed food, which often has a high amount of trans fat and preservatives that would, later on, lead to obesity and chronic diseases. Furthermore, poor children are less likely to engage in activities that promote physical fitness as well as maintaining a healthy lifestyle (Guo and Mullan 433). Many children in poverty do not get enough physical exercise. Nonetheless, they have a higher tendency to smoke, drink alcohol excessively and use drugs (Guo and Mullan 433). Moreover, many poor families live in unsafe homes or shelters that have lead-based paint (Brooks-Gunn and Greg J 60). When pregnant women or children are exposed to even a low level of lead, children’s health is at risk. Lead exposure can cause many health problems including hearing loss, Vitamin D metabolism damage, impaired blood production, growth stunting (height unusually short for their age) and toxic effect on the kidneys (Brooks-Gunn and Greg J 60). Besides, even though 94.8 percent of children under age 18 are covered by health insurance as of 2015, many poor children may not get proper health treatment when a health problem arises due to worry about co-payment fees (Barnett
Poverty has many influences on children under the age of 16. The research fined out that in recent year, an increasing number of children become poor, live under the poverty condition- childhood poverty lasted 10 years or more. So, what does the poverty exactly mean to children? According to Brook-Gunn and Duncan, The kids who live in the poverty condition have the low quality of schools; more likely to have domestic violence and become homeless; less access to friends, services, etc. (Brooks-Gunn et all, 1997) That points out the disadvantage and how the family income influence youngsters overall childhood, since under the poverty condition, they children do not have enough money to support for their necessary needs, they will more likely to have low self-confidence and hard to blend in with their peers. Poverty has impact on children’s achievement in several different ways. Payne (2003) maintained that the poverty could affect children achievement though emotional, mental, financial, and role models (Payne, 2003). Thus, the children from low-income family are more likely to have self-destructive behavior, lack of control emotional response and lack of necessary intellectual, that is really important for the students under the age of 16. Nevertheless, the children who suffer from poverty are usually have low birth weight and low cognitive ability
It is not difficult to document that poor children suffer a disproportionate share of deprivation, hardship, and bad outcomes. More than 16 million children in the United States – 22% of all children – live in families with incomes below the federal poverty level – $23,550 a year for a family of four. (Truman, 2005) Living in poverty rewires children 's brains and reports show that it produces prolonged effects. Also, growing up in a community with dangerous streets, gangs, confused social expectations, discouraging role models, and few connections to outsiders commanding resources becomes a burden for any child. The concern about the number of children living in poverty arises from our knowledge of the problems children face because of poverty.
In addition to providing alarming statistics about the rate of childhood poverty, Jenson & Fraser highlight how much poverty can adversely affect the outcomes of children both directly and indirectly by impacting them at a familial and community levels (31-34).
The socio economic status and outcomes are based on, the people are rich, their health would be better than those who are poor. Poverty has many roots- material deprivation (of food, shelter, sanitation and safe drinking water), Social exclusion, Lack of education, unemployment and lower income, that all work together to reduce opportunities, limit choices, undermine hope, result, threaten health (sen, 2003). Poverty has been linked many higher prevalence health conditions, increase risk of chronic disease, injury, deprived infant development, stress, anxiety, depression and premature death (NFHS-3,
...Lichter and Crowley).Low-income mothers are more likely to have low birth-weight babies, who are at greater risk than other babies for a variety of cognitive and emotional problems. In addition, poor children are more likely than other children to be exposed to toxic substances and other environmental health risks and to have less healthy diets. These greater health and environmental risks help explain the higher rates of asthma, diabetes, learning disabilities, and speech or hearing problems that limit the school attendance of poor children and interfere with their academic performance and physical activities. The percentage of poor children with such chronic health conditions increased between the mid-19880s and mid-1990s, and the gap between poor children and other children widened (Lichter and Crowley). As have the number of unwed mothers receiving public aid.
Child Poverty has been an ongoing issue throughout the world for decades. The problem of child poverty affects every part of the world. Poverty has pervasive consequences that can last a lifetime. In this paper I will discuss poverty and how it impacts the lives of children and include the lasting influence of child poverty in adulthood.
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.
Childhood development is both a biological and psychological period that occurs to every human from birth to adolescence. The transition from dependency to autonomy characterizes this period. The crucial factors that affect this period include parental life, prenatal development and genetics among others. Childhood period is immensely significant for the child’s future health and development. Efforts in ensuring proper child development are normally seen through parents, health professional and educators who work collectively. Such efforts are essential in making sure that children grow to reach their full potential. However, it is not extremely easy to raise a child in modern times because certain factors emerge to ruin this pivotal stage in life. Poverty is a serious problem that can immensely affect childhood development (Horgan, 2007). Children are susceptible developmentally to problems in their earliest period of their life. Poverty is not a selective issue and it can affect all ages in any place, but its
“Several communities characteristics associated with poverty are negatively associated with low birth weight” (Roberts, 1997)
Thus, poverty has extreme detrimental effects and consequences for children and families suffering through it. It is still unclear whether poverty can ever be eradicated as there are millions still in poverty around the world. The effects of poverty on children have extreme consequences for the early stages of their development, and the consequences for a family relies on the income inadequacies that many in poverty face. These consequences are reinforced by Saunders (2005) as discussed throughout this essay. Therefore, poverty has some major damaging effects for all individuals involved.
When analyzing children growing up in poverty a lot of factors come into play such as their physical, psychological and emotional development. To grow up in poverty can have long term effect on a child. What should be emphasized in analyzing the effects of poverty on children is how it has caused many children around the world to suffer from physical disorders, malnutrition, and even diminishes their capacities to function in society. Poverty has played a major role in the functioning of families and the level of social and emotional competency that children are able to reach. Children in poverty stricken families are exposed to greater and emotional risks and stress level factors. They are even capable of understanding and dealing with their own emotions as well as the emotions of others. Some of the implications of poverty include educational setbacks, issues with social behaviors and hindrances in psychological and physical development. Poverty deprives children of the capabilities needed to survive, develop and prosper in society. Studies have shown that the income status of a household and even the neighborhoods in which they reside can affect the amount of readily available resources needed to sustain a healthy child. This essay will examine the psychological and physical effects of poverty on children. The psychological aspect will include a look at behavioral problems in children, depression, chronic stress, and conduct disorders such as ADHD. Poverty is known to decrease the amount of psychological and physical capabilities in children which can have long term adverse effects on their wellbeing.
"Key Facts: Poverty and Poor Health." Health Poverty Action. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2014.
This nation has a problem: more of its citizens rely on the federal government for help than to support themselves with a full time job. Poverty has many negative effects on the people who suffer from it and on the economy. Everyone needs to be made aware of poverty and the many negative effects it has on people. There are things that could be done to help reduce the amount of people that are in poverty. Reducing poverty would decrease health risks, strengthen the middle class, and help the democracy.
Children living in poverty have significant effects on their development. Poverty begins to affect children’s cogitative development early on in the child’s life, reasons why it is noticeable at an early age is because they do not have the learning experiences they need before start attending school, causing them to fall behind, plus leaving them to be unsuccessful for the rest of their life. School readiness is the biggest factor in determining whether a child can escape from poverty or whether they will continue to struggle with learning throughout their life. Interventions during the early childhood could prevent some of these effects from occurring or influences their achievement. Interventions have been used by child care centers to improve
Has anyone ever considered thinking about what the world is really going through? How many people don’t have the necessities in order to survive? If so, what are these people going through? Poverty is the state of one who lacks a standard or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions. Sometimes events occur that changes a person’s perspective on life. Poverty is one that can have a huge effect on not only one person, but also the people around him/her. Over half of the world is going through this tragedy and we, being the ones who created it, have the responsibility to end it.