A Study On Child Poverty Essay

Poverty is not simply a deficiency in material resources, it is the complex situation of low income that limits ones access to many of the social determinants of health such as safe and suitable housing, food, child care, education, and can lead to social exclusion (Séguin et al, 2012). The experience of poverty in childhood, particularly early childhood, has been linked to many adverse health effects such as low birth weight, increased incidence of asthma, injuries, mental health issues and obesity (Sharma & Ford-Jones, 2015). The impact of childhood poverty continues into adulthood, increasing the risk of many chronic diseases. Perhaps even

Child poverty is referred to the children experiencing hardships in their life. The environment that they are living in will affect them (Unicef). Children might experience poverty differently from adults as they have different and specific needs. They are not living in a normal pattern of modern life which means they could have insufficient nutritious food, often wear worn-out shoes or clothing and they usually live in a cold, damp house. They could also be missing out on activities that the most children in New Zealand take for granted (Child Poverty Monitor). According to the statistics from Child Poverty Monitor 2015 Technical Report, there are 148,000 children which are 14% of them living in material hardship and 305,000 children which are 29% of them living in income poverty. 9% of the children in New Zealand is living in severe poverty and 3 out of 5 of the children in New Zealand are living in persistent poverty. These statistics indicate that child poverty is a very significant problem in New Zealand (Child Poverty

In the UK, particularly in England and Wales, children’s life chances are determined by the economic status of the families into which they are a part of. Children from poor households are more likely to suffer the consequences of their families’ condition. They will have to endure the stigma of poverty in a profoundly lopsided society where the socioeconomic standing of individuals is determined by their capacity to buy. These poor children also have less access to quality educational opportunities (Welbourne, 2012). Furthermore, children living in poverty at present are likely to remain poor for the rest of their lives because of intergenerational cycles of poverty

‘Poverty is on the agenda of the Every Child Matters framework, with one of the five outcomes stating that every child should ‘achieve wealth and economic well being.’ This means is it is important that children experiencing poverty have the same opportunities as their peers.’(CYPW, pg 186/187)

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

Children who are insecure about where their next meal will come from, where they will sleep that night and habitually suffer from poor health conditions are often associated with third world countries. The staggering truth is that these children exist in America. In fact 18% of American children face one or all of these challenges on a daily basis with little to no hope for change in their future. The cycle of poverty continues to plague American children and families, but with focused changes in health care and education they will break the cycle. Evidence shows that children who live in poverty are less likely to escape it due to the difficulties faced at home, inefficiencies in the education system and their health environment entraps them.

With poverty numbers on the rise, we must look to those it is affecting the worst, our children. Children these days are suffering and very little is being done to actually prevent the terrible things going on. Over 1 billion children are classified as in poverty. These children could be suffering from any type of poverty, but overall they are taking someone of the worst aspects of it. Poverty can hit people in about six different ways; generational, situational, absolute, relative, urban, and rural poverty. These six different kinds of poverty are what make up every situation that one can think of. They cover anywhere from family lifestyles, to unpredictable situations, all the way to how and where people live. The six types all in turn make

The number of people experiencing hardship is on the rise due to increasing economic inequality caused by events beyond their control. These people are at the bottom of a social pyramid where power is concentrated at the top in the hands of a few politicians. In the report Urban Poverty, Structural Violence and Welfare Provision for 100 Families in Auckland, the authors use strong emotive language such as, stigmatising, discriminatory, punitive, violent, abusive, bondage, and through the use of phrases like, specific perpetrator and victim, institutionalised racism, sexism and inequities’, to convey a sense of the injustice and immorality of the governments neoliberal policies that are affecting this group. Political rhetoric is often used when discussing the effects of policies initiated or perpetuated by the incumbent political party and the authors determine these policies are driven by the contemporary political doctrine of a neoliberal approach to social welfare. The document is easy to read and suitable for a diverse audience from government department policy makers to professionals and students in the social sciences as well as members of the wider community, particularly those people of voting age registered on the electoral role, and therefore has value as a document to stimulate a broad discussion about poverty and the effects and consequences of neoliberalism and pointedly those policies enacted by the National party. The report repeatedly displays religious and

Almost 280,000 children are living in poverty. Sixty-three percent of poverty-stricken children are to be found in beneficiary households; 53 per cent in single parent families. One in six European children live in poverty with Maori and Pasifika twice as likely to be affected. (NZ herald Michael Botur August 26, 2014)

Child poverty is a major and complex issue that New Zealand faces today. The degree is far more severe than the public's perception and it is a problem that we cannot afford to ignore. A combination of factors contributes to child poverty, from individual causes at the micro level to the macro collective government involvement. This occurs partly due to social construction and it is potentially avoidable. The consequences can impact on both individual and to a great extent affect significantly on the country as a whole. If the issue is not resolved, the inequality will continue, if not worsen and becomes an ongoing intergeneration cycle. 'The poor get poorer and poorer', children can easily fall into the poverty trap where it becomes

Nearly one in three children in the UK – a total of four million – live in poverty. It’s a statistic that perhaps many people acknowledge is shocking, but they don’t appreciate its implications.

An ongoing health issue in New Zealand is poverty in children. Children are now living without the basic necessities each day in summer and winter to protect against New Zealand weather conditions. General needs that most New Zealanders take advantage of such as shoes that cover and protect their feet, raincoats that keep them dry walking to school and sunblock to protect from cancer in the future, are lacking for children in poverty. Poverty in children is defined as "Children living in poverty are those who experience deprivation of the material resources and income that is required for them to develop and thrive, leaving such children unable to enjoy their rights, achieve their full potential and participate as equal members of New Zealand society" Expert Advisory Group on Solutions to Child Poverty (2012). The topic of this essay is to talk about the inter-relationship between environmental factors such as barriers to healthcare, socioeconomics, and socioeconomic status and city living. It focuses on the issues of children in New Zealand living in poverty especially those going to school with no food, shoes or clothing.

Education is invaluable when it comes to looking at child poverty and the way in which this issue effects New Zealand communities. Māori overall tend to have lower pass rates at all levels of NCEA than European New Zealanders. This alone however is a very much western way of viewing education. It measures academic success against exams that a very much created through western thought processes that may not accurately portray the ways in Māori learn and achieve. Education is both an outcome and leading factor in the cycle of Child Poverty in New Zealand as with such a high importance placed on tertiary education today it is harder to obtain reasonable or higher paying jobs without such higher education. But poverty in itself

According to Dr. Russell, the Children’s Commissioner of New Zealand, there are approximately 305,000 children that are currently in poverty in the country by December 2015, which is 29 percent of the children nationwide (Collins, 2015). Child poverty could be either due to material deprivation or hardship, and these kids are likely to suffer from hunger, cold, health problems and more (OCC, 2012).

In New Zealand, ARF has been significantly increasing. It is alarming as ARF is considered an evident indicator of child poverty and ill health (Sharpe, 2012). The cases of ARF doubled from 1.9 per 100 000 to 3.8 per 100 000 from 2005 to 2010 (Lowe, L., Miller, J., & Sharpe, N., 2011).