Poverty And Poverty

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.

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

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

On the physical side, some of the ways in which poverty contributes to poor health are very obvious. The principal reason how poverty affects individuals is that it prevents them from buying food, which in turn, leads to hunger that eventually turns into malnourishment. Malnutrition can be very dangerous for the human

One of the side effects of poverty is poor housing. People on low income are often dependent on local authority housing. This may result in overcrowding, for example being located in a bed-sit or home with not enough bedrooms. This means the child has no privacy, or personal space. This

If a child grows up living in poverty then the child’s health may be affected. This could be down to poor or unbalanced diet. If a child has a bad diet then various conditions may occur such as :- Nutritional anaemia this is due in lack of iron folic acid and vitamin B12.

So we now know income is a huge contributor to child poverty but this can then lead to poor health for the child and this can start from the

In additional to the stigmatization, due to prolonged periods of poverty, they may have inaccurate information to seek professional health care or mistrust individuals and as a result, chronic diseases may go unnoticed and worsen overtime (Turnbull, 2002). As such, there are many misconceptions surround poverty in which individuals who receive financial aid from government programs are thought to be "lazy" for not working harder to escape poverty or that most individuals misuse the aid that they receive for frivolous purchases and that by providing aid for these individuals, we are supporting their "laziness". As the ramifications of poverty are especially social and psychological in nature, I believe that tackling poverty should be a provincial responsibility. When it comes to poverty, children are often the group that is at the forefront of discussions and

Poverty causes most stress within households and has an impact on the healthy development of a child.

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

Again, just living in poverty areas increases health issues and mortality due to health issues. Children raised in poverty in substandard homes located in high-crime areas have an increased chance of cognitive deficiencies, depression, or some other mental disorder (Anakwenze & Zuberi, 2013, p. 149). The children are the future; with this being said, an ugly cycle of poverty continues to be reinforced with each generation. Breaking the cycle with community outreach programs, increased mental health awareness, increased employment, and increased educational benefits for those in need are a few things that could potential help. As the old saying goes, “Give a Man a Fish, and You Feed Him for a Day. Teach a Man To Fish, and You Feed Him for a Lifetime” (Author unknown). Unfortunately, there is no right or easy answer for poverty but, I believe education is the key.

Children are faced with many consequences due to growing up in poverty. Most children who live in poverty go to poor unsuitable schools, live in unexceptable housing, and grow up around more violence and crime than any other parent would wish for their child. As soon as the child is born into poverty, they begin to feel the effects of it. They tend to have low birth weight and contain a higher risk of dying during infancy. We watched a video in class that showed that poverty could take a toll on the child’s learning capabilities, and health status. There were stories of children with hyperactivity problems, chronic ear infections which caused hearing loss, and even children who were not receiving the proper amount of nutrients to be able to grow and function correctly. The first years of a child’s life are the most crucial because most of the development of the brain occurs then.

Health is another issue that has been examined as a potential effect of living in poverty. A large amount of literature links low income to child health problems with studies showing that children in poverty are at a greater risk of infant, child and adolescent deaths (Children’s Defense Fund, 1994) along with malnutrition (Miller & Korenman, 1994) and numerous other health issues. These health issues can also be linked to the low quality living environment, as children in poverty are more likely to be exposed to toxins such as lead along with poorer air and water quality. These have been found to lead to cognitive deficits in children (Holgate, Samet, Koren, & Maynard, 1999).

“High rates of child poverty are a cause for concern, as low family income has been associated with a range of negative health, education, justice, labour market and social outcomes. Negative health outcomes include low birth weight, infant mortality, poorer mental health and cognitive development, and hospital admissions from a variety of causes” (Craig, Reddington, Wicken, Oben & Simpson, 2013, pg. 24).

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.