Child Poverty

Child poverty is the broad term for children who are living in poverty. Children in child poverty experience different environments and situations ranging from low income households to severe poverty. 290,000 children in New Zealand live in low income households. This means that their households are earning less than 60% of New Zealand's average household income (Child Poverty Monitor, 2017). Material hardship means that children are going without many things they need for their basic needs and wellbeing. 12% of children are going without 7 out of 17 of the things that they need which amount to 135,000 children in New Zealand. 70,000 or 6% of children are going without 9 out of 17 of the things that they need (Child Poverty Monitor, 2017).

This greatly impacts on their health and wellbeing. Damp, cold and moldy houses are severe issues that many New Zealanders living in poverty face. Unfit houses can cause respiratory problems and other illnesses that could possibly take a child's life. Children in poverty are three times more likely to die than children who are not living in poverty (McDonald et al., 2018) This is in part due to overcrowded and unfit housing along with the fact that many parents cannot afford to take their children to a doctor. According to McDonald et al, (2018) for the Child and Youth Mortality Review Committee, there were 483 deaths of children and young people in 2016. Children who have special needs and learning disabilities are severely impacted by the effects of child poverty. If a child needs to attend a school that will cater to their special needs, it often costs a large sum of money and government places are extremely hard to obtain. People without a permanent address also struggle to find schools for their children because many schools in New Zealand have a specific zone that they prioritize entry for. When children are not in school, their intellectual stimulation is limited and their education is greatly affected. Camille Farrington, a senior research associate at the University of Chicago explains that "poor attendance itself can cause problems with healthy development because of the disruption it causes to academic achievement (and learning) and to social connections with peers and adults at