Child Poverty And Its Effects On Children

For the purpose of giving awareness and clarity to the topic of Children Poverty in Canada, this research will include primary and secondary research data to identify an increasing epidemic of impoverished children in Canada.

As Canada grows a worldwide power it has to learn to deal with several issues that plague the country ranging from economic independence from the United States of America to how to best implement healthcare for Canadian citizens. Poverty is a worldwide phenomenon that continues to be a major issue in even the most developed countries. It impacts individuals on varying levels depending on the "type" of poverty that they are experiencing be it situational, generational, absolute, relative, urban or rural and as poverty is a multi-layered issue, it is hard to objectively define (Jensen, 2009). As a result of the intricate nature of the issue, when an individual is living in a state of poverty, the negative consequences cascade to other components of life, the most notable effect is on the health of the individual.

There are issues within Canadian society that effect the health and development of citizens specifically related to the issue of children and poverty. Poverty among children is an ongoing issue that the Canadian government promised to eradicate by the year 2000. Still today the issue of children living below the national poverty line effects the development of society as well as the development of children. As Canada represents itself to be a welfare nation, major cut backs in social assistance greatly undermines the advantage children have growing up in society. Many believe that children have basic needs that need to be fulfilled in order to have good health and education.

In the introduction of this essay we will be looking at ‘what is child poverty?’ Poverty is often associated with the third world and developing countries where death from starvation and disease is the outcome. This kind of poverty is rarely seen in the UK though. Child poverty is unfortunately a result of adult poverty with Child poverty having lifelong consequences. There are 3.5 million children living in poverty in the UK today, that’s 27 per cent of children or more than one in four (department for work and pensions, 2013.) Poverty in the UK is about a lack of resources, lack of capital both income and wealth. But it can also be resource poor such as; education and good health

Educators and caregivers must understand that children come from diverse backgrounds. Children who live in poverty or low-income families face many challenges. When a child is from a low-income family, you must know and understand the obstacles the child and their families may face. There are many ways living in poverty can affect children and families; educationally, physically, and emotionally, cognitively, and socially. There are resources available and beneficial information to encourage and benefit families who live in poverty or low-income families.

It is known that the children are unable to determine their life circumstances, their families, and care solely for themselves without supervision. With this being said, children have little to no jurisdiction in determining the situations that they are confronted with. Most of the time when we ponder child poverty we think of low-income families or lack of food in the household, but it extends beyond that to “an environment that is damaging to their mental, physical, emotional and spiritual development” (“Children Under Threat,” 2005). Unfortunately, the prevalence of youth poverty in the United States may seem uncommon to those who are personally unaffected by the crisis; however, statistics show that 15 million children (21% of all children) live in families with incomes below the federal poverty threshold (Child Poverty, 2017). Moreover, when considering the demographics of impoverished children the following are true: a child in the U.S. has a 1 in 5 chance of being poor and the younger they are the poorer they are likely to be, and a child of color is more than twice as likely to be poor than a White child (Child Poverty, 2017). Research proves that poverty is the single greatest threat to a child’s well-being as it decreases the likelihood of a child graduating from high school, and it increases the chances of them becoming involved with the criminal justice system (Ending Child Poverty Now, 2017).

Considering other countries are putting their efforts to limit the growth of child poverty Canada should also focus on initiating “Save the Children” mission. Canada should intensively participate in “Plan International” and “World vision”. Further studies have shown that Child development index is the most appropriate measurement of child poverty.

Given that information, one might presume that the struggle of poverty can be overwhelming, especially when the family has children in their home. The child deals with the struggles of not having the same advantages that others have in life. The child may experience the feeling of neglect and may become doubtful in weather or not they can perform daily activities that are usually taught by parents. “Children under 18 years represent 23 percent of the population, but they comprise 32 percent

In the United States, child poverty has been a severe issue even when the country was established. When looking at the statistics of child poverty from the past, it is clear that there was an increasing number of families and children living in poverty. This trend dates back to the year 2000 when 11.6 million people were living in poverty. In 2007, the number of individuals suffering from poverty rose to 13.4 million, (Arrighi & Maume, 2007). This is due to the massive economic fallout, also known as the Great Recession. The United States lost over 7.5 million jobs and the unemployment rate doubled, which directly impacted parents and their children, (Grusky & etc., 2011). This crisis resulted in leaving many Americans financially insecure. Even though many of the financially stable individuals suffered a great loss, they were able to utilize their resources to navigate through the calamity and recover whereas those who were poor faced an economic issue with greater impact. They were faced with foreclosures, bankruptcies and mortgage felonies. Most importantly, the lives of the young children were negatively impacted as well. The four areas that the children were affected by from the Great Recession were: health, hunger, housing, abuse and neglect, (Wiltz 2015). In several households, there was at least one member that suffered from malnourishment because of the inadequate food supply for the family. On the other hand, numerous children were left to be homeless because of

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

For the purpose of this assignment I shall be discussing what child poverty is, the factors of child poverty in the United Kingdom and how child poverty will be tackled. In the UK families have a prime responsibility to nurture and care for their children through various development stages (UNICEF 2012 ). Child poverty can happen from the break up of families, being in debt, poor education or unfortunately an orphan or born in to the situation (BBC, 2012). All children have the right to embark on the best possible start to life, within a secure and happy environment with support into adulthood and the opportunity for potential.

In the United States and in countries all over the world, poverty has extreme impacts on a

Poverty in today’s day and age has become more common than ever before. Poverty involves not being able to participate in activities that most other people are able to do (Raphael 2015, Lecture). The topic of poverty connects with inequality, where living conditions produce material and social deprivation that intensively threaten health and reduce the quality of life for an exclusive subset of the population (Raphael 2011, preface). For children, this has been a disregarded subject and deserves much more attention and consideration worldwide. In health, education, and material well-being, there comes this impression of children “falling behind” (Adamson 2010, p. 1). In a well-established country like Canada, the topic of poverty, as well

Socio-economic factors are widely acknowledged as important determinants of poverty. If an individual experiences adverse living conditions in childhood, majority of them will have inadequate income and result in low socio-economic status as adults (Carroll et al, 2011). Children born in poor households have difficulty in accessing the basic needs (e.g. food, clothing, and good living environment) and this can affect their learning ability at school, unable to focus. In other words, they have a higher chance of dropping out of school or lower education attainment, unable to provide appropriate qualifications when they move onto adulthood, seeking for job opportunities. These children are finding day-to-day life tough, they are living in cold, damp houses, do not have warm or rain-proof clothing, their shoes are worn, and many days they go hungry (Children's Commissioner, 2012). Often this has taken place over a long period of time, impacting on their development, behaviour and physical health furthermore limiting their potential as they grow into adults.

The impact of poverty in the family at large is of major concern. The study examines the association of the impact of poverty and children’s health including the behavior pattern and achievement. The research focus on the study that explore how child poverty contribute to the development than parenting skills; how poverty has impact on the children. The research also provide information about children health status and poverty and critically examines how poverty affect or is detrimental to parenting and as well looked into family stress and parenting and also relationship and consequences of children growing up poor. The research focus on necessary ways to intervene and help families who are poor in restoring a functional and effective family in all aspect. By and large the research support the conclusion that the detrimental impact of poverty on parenting is more of stress and feeling of sadness, thus affect the style of parenting and its practicability. Factor that may be responsible for the identified correlation been poverty on the path of the parent is also analyzed. Finding therefore suggest that prompt intervention by parents at the very beginning stage of the child development is paramount to reduce this impact and causes of poverty on the children.