In recent years, about one in five American children—some 12 to 14 million—have lived in families in which cash income failed to exceed official poverty thresholds. Income poverty is the condition of not having enough income to meet basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter. Because children are dependent on others, they enter or avoid poverty by virtue of their family’s economic circumstances. Children cannot alter family conditions by themselves, at least until they approach adulthood.
I have been a product of poverty. My parents had six children to cloth and feed. However, we were happy and healthy. Fortunately, my parents took us to the doctors on a regular basis and we were showered with love. There were times we did not have enough to eat.
In addition, I work in a head start program and there are children enrolled that do not have enough to eat. We are offer healthy meals and give seconds to help combat this issue. In addition, our family service office offers referrals to family we may need food and clothing.
Compared with nonpoor children, poor children in the United States experience diminished physical health as measured by a number of indicators of health status and outcomes. Children living below the poverty threshold are 1.3 times as likely as nonpoor children to experience learning disabilities and developmental delays. Educational attainment is well recognized as a powerful predictor of experiences in later life. A comprehensive review of the relationship between parental income and school attainment, published in 1994, concluded that poverty limited school achievement but that the effect of income on the number of school years completed was small. In general, the studies suggested that a 10% increase in family income is associated with a 0.2% to 2% increase in the number of school years completed.
Reference:
https://www.princeton.edu/futureofchildren/publications/docs/07_02_03.pdf
Thank you for sharing your story on poverty. I was also raised in poverty. It was very difficult at times to see peers have opportunities available to them which we did not. Our family struggled with having the basics throughout most of my childhood. The one thing we did have was love and encouragement. My father always had the attitude that things would work out one way or another. I think I have learned this from him and carry it into my daily life. OUr community is faced now with overwhelming poverty. Everyone agrees something must be done, unfortunately how to get it done is caught up in politics and shrinking budgets.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth-
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing. I admire your willingness to outline the detriments of poverty and how that affects learning in young children. I also thank you for the work you do in Head Start. I did my student teaching for my undergrad in a Head Start and it was eye-opening for me to interact with children and families that were enduring what they were in order to make a better life for themselves.