Childhood Poverty

According to cliffnotes, there are different types of poverty; absolute poverty: the lack of access to the minimum food and shelter that is necessary for maintaining life; relative poverty: the poor who earns less than half of the nation median income, so they tend lack what is necessary to live decently; feminization of poverty: a number of single women who live in poverty alone, mainly as single mothers; and cultural poverty: where nothing can be done to change their economic outcomes. There are so many serious effects from poverty, but children are known to be affected the most. It is shown that children who grow up in poverty are more likely to suffer from more persistent, frequent, and severe health problems, than those children who grow up in a better financial circumstances and environment

Poverty can result in unemployment, parental separation, illness or disability, addictions, or criminal activities. Children may suffer malnutrition or a poor diet as a result of their parents being unable to afford quality food. This could result in lack of concentration or poor performance at school.

Many kids in the United States have been affected by poverty at some point in their lives. In fact, one in five children have been affected by poverty. A survey was done within the last year by the Scholastic company that interviewed a group of the State Teachers of the Year and asked them what they thought were some of the effects of poverty. Some popular answers were that it affects the way you perform in school greatly and that we need more anti-poverty programs to help out with these children. Poverty affects the success of students in many ways. These include not having the academic achievement that more advantaged kids did, not having experiences other kids did, and not having the early development they needed.

Another major factor that can affect poverty is the economy, specifically the economic system used in a country. Capitalist economies, like our own, focus on privately owned means of production, the people who own the company keep the profits and typically the government will not interfere. This private ownership of profits leads to the rich getting richer leaving little for the growing population of the poor. In a capitalist country where the government typically offers little support to its citizens, a large number of its citizens can be left without any services because they cannot afford them. An example of this is the United States, the richest country in the world where 28.5 million of its citizens have no health insurance (Collins). Poverty causes many problems for individuals, families, and society. Now I see how the only few people and organizations that actually benefit from poverty are the rich and those who control the means of production.

Poverty - A child may be living in a household with a very low income and their family may not be able to afford to provide for their children as they ad hoped. They may struggle to buy enough food, especially health food, to eat, buy clothes to wear or even to provide heating and electric. This can affect their physical and mental health due to poor hygiene and diet. Some children may suffer with low self-esteem and low self-respect because of the stigma attached to poverty, this can affect them in later life also.

According to the article Poverty and the Developing Brain: Insights from Neuroimaging article by Sheeva Azma, poverty is linked to emotional processing and memory environmental factors of poverty may have on a child’s behavior and academic performance in school that poverty causes physical changes to a child’s brain (Azma,2013). Poverty can affect a child’s development from a mild range or severe. This is

Poverty is a cycle that creeks from one generation to another. The only way to stop this trend is to invest in the education of the old and new alike. That in itself, is a huge problem because people who are poor live in neighborhoods that are rough and progress is hardly achieved with the resources that are located in those areas. The most important element that can transform the fortunes of people living in poverty is to invest in the younger generation through education. Investing in the right programs, will achieve more high school graduation rates and continuous education through to college.

Everyone knows what the word poverty means. It means poor, unable to buy the necessities to survive in today's world. We do not realize how easy it is for a person to fall into poverty: A lost job, a sudden illness, a death in the family or the endless cycle of being born into poverty and not knowing how to overcome it. There are so many children in poverty and a family's structure can effect the outcome. Most of the people who are at the poverty level need some type of help to overcome the obstacles. There are mane issues that deal with poverty and many things that can be done to stop it.

Poverty, a common problem in the US and yet, something that people consistently overlook. We are often unaware of the magnitude of poverty in the U.S and sometimes even disregard it. People living in destitution are at greater risk for behavioral and mental problems. Children or Teens who live in poverty are prone to poor academic achievements, become school dropouts , or grow subject to abuse or neglect. People in poverty also occasionally show signs of anxiety and depression.

Economic status is an important aspect that maintains an individual’s place in the society. Economic status is the thing that matters more than gender, race or religion. Though it is not the actual fact but it is believed that you need to have an economic standard to create your identity in society. Society doesn’t give respect to poor and this is heart breaking. Poverty not only prevents you from getting a good and quality of life but it also gives you mental pressure leading to depression and anxiety. Growing up in poverty causes many effects. Economic, Social and psychological effects are seen in an individual raised in poverty resulting in Poor Health, lack of education and even teen pregnancy.

Furthermore genetics is another factor, as inheritance plays a big part in determine the lifespan of individuals. Parental behaviour and coping skills such as balanced eating, being active not smoking or drinking play a major part in influencing children (Nursing standard n.d). Consequently poverty does lead to ill health, also lack of nutrition, housing and environment also contribute in causing ill-health. Therefore Individuals that are unemployed and relying on the government for benefits is one of the major causes of child poverty.

Some of the effects that poverty has on a child encompass areas such as health, housing, education, emotional problems, and stress. Children that face poverty are deprived of basic needs to survive, develop, and thrive. They are seen to be vulnerable to stress, health issues, and violence due to their poor circumstances. “Family-level poverty, low SES, and residence in less economically advantaged neighborhoods each independently predicts lower scores on tests on intelligence and cognitive functioning, lower levels of school achievements and increased levels of socioemotional problems, controlling for various parent and family characteristics. ”(McLoyd, V. 1998)

Whether current UK policies on poverty are workable and what is the most feasible policy should apply

Poverty is a social problem that affects everyone on an economic, political and social level. The problem of human suffering is one that we must combat strategically on many levels. According to the United Nations, “in 2015 more than one billion people around the world live in a state of poverty, lacking the basic goods food, clothing, and shelter that humans need to survive” (“Poverty”). There are a great number of areas that keep individuals poor, such as lack of resources, inadequate income, lack of education, language barriers and the high cost of child care. Being able to work and provide basic necessities is our basic human right and we should not be deprived of these basic human rights that individuals need in order to live satisfying lives. The government has the responsibility of helping individuals in need with the economic assistance to feed, clothe, house, educate, provide health care and decent wages for every individual. They should ensure that individuals have access to resources that will help them build a better future. There are several ways that we can work together to strategically find solutions to end inequality among the poor individuals in our society.

Thousands of individuals are living in poverty. Why is it that this worldwide dilemma is still rising in rapid numbers till this day? Is it because of a lack of authoritative power, or a lack of one’s self control to do good? Despite the unknown cause, it has managed to drastically affect the lives of many. Poverty is like a curse, one that is wrongfully placed, difficult to get out of, and resistant to many forms of help.