Zinnah Fallah-Brown
Mr. Van
English 12-1
21 February 2016
Poverty Affects Children the Most Poverty is a major problem in the world and a growing problem in America, it is the state of being poor. In America, the United States Census Bureau published that there were 43.1 million people living in poverty in 2015. In light of this situation, there are currently 21% of 15 million children living in a family with a low income coming into the household according to the National Center for Children in Poverty. Children growing up in poverty usually have the worse outcomes in life. Growing up in a poverty stricken area can have both negative and positive effects on young a child but mostly negative. These could all be mental, physical, and
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Poverty is seen too often in America, and people do not think about the causes especially in young kids and teenagers. One of the reasons most people do not think much about poverty in this country is because they do not understand how it all happens. /To elaborate, there are many causes of poverty and one of those causes happens to be a poor economy. Jobs are closing and it is becoming a competition to find new ones. If someone never graduated high school or college, it would be harder for them to get a job compared to someone who has graduated. This can also be related to how people in poverty may not get the proper education. Also, if there are not any jobs left, individuals with low income most likely will never get a job because they do not have a degree and they can not afford to take classes? This causes individuals to only get a small amount of unemployment benefits. In the result of no job opportunities, people are forced to either become homeless or live in low income housing because there is a lack of affordable houses.
“According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, families across the country would need to earn a “housing wage” of $15.37 an hour to afford a two-bedroom apartment at the average fair market rent” (Pursegod.org). It is very hard to find a job when someone has no experience, no degree, or is even a drug abuser. In elaboration, Drug abuse is also
As mentioned by Ruane and Cerulo in Second Thoughts, harsh realities of poverty affect children’s lives in profound ways. Children lack any power in improving their circumstances and depend on adults to gain access to basic necessities. Access to proper healthcare, education, and basic nutrition continues to be an obstacle for children. Poverty impedes children’s aptitude to learn and contributes to poor overall health and mental health. Perhaps most important, poverty becomes a cyclical nature that is difficult to overcome. Children who experience poverty when they are young tend to experience persistent poverty over the course of their entire lives. According to the Child Welfare League of America, the national poverty rate for children
Our failing economy plays a huge role in this issue, as well as, many other factors but there is no one cause of poverty (UNESCO). Gottdiener, Hutchinson, and Ryan suggest that the uneven development of the economy can be a factor that causes poverty. It is also suggested that poverty maybe caused by both the behavior of individuals and political/economic structures and everything in between (Payne). Overpopulation, changing trends in the economy, lack of education, epidemic diseases, and environmental issues are also factors of poverty (UNESCO). In my opinion, I believe poverty influences problems like hunger, malnutrition, and disease that distresses individuals in poverty. I also think that racial/population segregation play a major role as well as a cause of why so many individuals are forced to live in poverty. As a consequence of our current economic meltdown, unemployment and poverty have hit unprecedented levels and the problem remains an extremely important issues (Gottdiener, Hutchinson, &
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.
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 is a human services issue that is spread throughout the nation and world. ‘The percentage of children who are poor is more than three times as high in the United States as it is in Norway or the Netherlands.’ (Porter, 2016) The trend since 2000 is that there is an increasing amount of families, and in turn children, living in poverty. Poverty has been defined as the state of being extremely poor. But what does that mean? Poverty is the lack of financial, emotional, spiritual, mental, and physical resources. Children cannot change their situation because they are dependent on adults to provide for them which makes poverty easily passed from generation to generation. “Poverty directly and indirectly affects
According to the National Center for Children in Poverty, over 16 million children (22%) in the United States live below the federal poverty level, which is $23,550 per year for a family of four. Research has shown that a family requires an income of about twice that amount just to cover basic needs and expenses. Using these statistics, 45% of children in the US live in low-income households. Most parents of low-income children are employed, but unsteady employment accompanied with low wages leave families struggling to make ends meet. The effects of poverty on children are numerous and long lasting, such as impaired learning ability as well as social, behavioral, and emotional difficulties. Childhood poverty can also contribute to poor physical and mental health. Research has shown that poverty is the greatest threat to s child’s well-being, but public policies can make a difference when they are implemented effectively.
Poverty in the United States has been a very big issue throughout its history. Poverty is both an economic condition and a social concept. Poverty in the United States first took place in the 19th century and till this day. Poverty was caused by people being selfish and not allowing everyone to have a chance on being successful. Poverty took a big hit from the Great Depression to the Great Recession that led millions of people down. Since then the poverty rate has been going up and down, never keeping a steady pace. “In the late 1950s, about 22 percent of Americans nearly 40 million people were on poverty” ("Poverty"). This means that poverty is a big issue and everyone needs to contribute to fixing this problem. Since this is a big issue
Poverty continues to be an issue in our country due to multiple reasons. Children who are poor in our country receive fewer opportunities in education because of their economic situation. As a result of lack of better education children grow up in an environment of teenage pregnancy, child abuse, suicide, drug addiction, and high crime rates. Children brought up in such environment have a harder time in becoming
In the United States of America more than sixteen million children live in poverty. In the news today we notice many examples of poverty due to the lack of jobs. Job scarcity is a root cause for lower-income families. Poverty has a substantial effect on children: physically, mentally, and educationally.
Poverty is an important issue in America today and in the past, to make our country better we need to fix the rate of poverty in America. There are families that wonder, not what but if they are going to eat each day of the year because people just cannot support their families. Maybe it is the fact that they do not make enough money, or they do not have a job to make money. Sometimes they just blow away money on gambling, drinking, drugs, and other bad examples. However, there are hardworking people that try their best to support themselves and or their families.
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
Poverty can lead to serious effects. Children who grow up in poverty are likely to have frequent health problems than the children who grow in better financial circumstances. For example, infants who are born into poverty have a low birth weight, and they grow up with mental or physical disabilities. Not only are they sick, but they are most likely to die before their first birthday. Children who are raised in poverty might miss school often because of their illnesses, and they have a much higher accident rate than the other children. Nearly a billion of the world’s population can’t read nor write. Poor families experience stress much more than a normal family does. They are more likely to be exposed to negative events such as illness, job loss, death of a family member, and depression. Homelessness is another effect of poverty. Homeless children are less likely to receive proper nutrition, protection and they experience more health problems. Around 1.4 million children die each year from lack of access to safe and clean water and proper nutrition. Homeless women experience a high rate of low birth weight infants as well as miscarriages. Families who do not have homes receive much more stress than other families. They also have disruption in school, work, friendships, and family relationships. There are other effects of poverty such as drug abuse and addiction, child and woman abuse, debts pressure, and increase in crimes.
Children in poverty is a typical social issue occurring in society today. “More than 16 million children in the United States – 22% of all children – live in families with incomes below the federal poverty level” (“National Center For Children In Poverty,” n.d.). The federal poverty level measures the amount of income a family takes in per year. It varies depending on the number of people in a family. For a nuclear family (two parents and two children) the federal poverty level is around twenty-four thousand dollars in a year (“Health Care.gov,” n.d.). The average American makes around forty-six thousand dollars a year. The parents of the children in poverty make at least twenty-two thousand dollars below the average. Their families are extremely poor. Also, not just one child is facing this hardship, sixteen million children are part of families below the federal poverty line, just in America. “About 22% of children in the U.S. lived below the poverty line in 2013, compared with 18% in 2008” (Calfas, 2015). Unfortunately, the rate of poverty affecting children has gone up through the years. More and more children will face poverty during day to day life. Children can be affected by poverty in many ways. “Poverty can impede children’s ability to learn and contribute to social, emotional, and behavioral problems. Poverty also can contribute to poor
Poverty is a considerable social problem; with a significant impact on those who suffer within. Growing up in poverty “reduces a child’s chance of growing up to be a healthy, well-adjusted, and contributing adult in our society” (Crosson-Tower, 2014, p. 59). Poverty is families having to struggle to afford necessities. Poverty does not know where your next meal is coming from or having to choose between paying rent and seeing a health care provider. The impact of poverty affects one’s ability through physical, social, emotional, and educational health. Even though individual overcome poverty it still extends across cultural, racial, ethnic, and geographical borders. Children represent the largest group of poverty in the United States. “Growing up in poverty places a child at a profound disadvantage and substantially lowers the chances that the child will mature into a well-adjusted, productive, and contributing
One of the richest nations in the world continues to face an issue with no end towards it. America is known to be a country with great opportunities for better living and most importantly a chance for a successful future. It is unfortunate that despite of a better life and opportunities in America, poverty continues to be present and affecting citizens. Income does in fact; affect the condition of living in America. There are a number of outcomes as a result of poverty such as being physically unhealthy, lack of achievement in education/career, and fewer supports that Americans rely on to be successful. The fact that children are dependent from others makes them the target most affected by poverty and makes it difficult to overcome their chance of a better living condition in America. There has been research about intervention programs, which demonstrate ways to improve developmental problems that are experienced by children in poverty. Citizens in America may not be fully aware of the number of children in poverty, nevertheless statistics continue to demonstrate and explain how children are affected every year.