Analysis Of Poverty As A Childhood Disease By Perri Klass

Childhood poverty is one of the most detrimental factors in the development of children. Growing up I have observed how it can hinder a child severely if not handled appropriately. In the article, “Poverty as a Childhood Disease” by Perri Klass highlights some of the struggles children living under the poverty line would incur, such as not having enough food to eat, clothes to wear, or the amount of cognitive stimulation they would need to allow them to be better students. Poverty is comparable to a genetic disease that is inherited throughout the generations until either someone or something intervenes, or until someone breaks the cycle. Poverty has plagued my family’s life for many generations. My mother and father both were raised in rural Jamaica where you made you living off of farming. My grandfather owned many acres of land but that didn’t offset him from living in
When we were back in Jamaica my mother owned not only a bar but she also sold crops that she would grow. My father at the time was in America and could only support us minimally finically because he worked at a grocery store and also would throw his money away to alcohol. With the little monetary support my mother received she had to support four children with clothing, food, and education. In Jamaica, because you have to pay for school it can be hard financially to send three child to high school, but she somehow did it. Living in a two bedroom house, one used for her bar and the other for living quarters my older siblings overcame the first hurdle. Achieving high marks in school and only needing to work when they were older and wanted a taste of freedom. They are proof that poverty doesn’t have to cripple your cognitive development if you treat it from the beginning. My eldest brother because of the foundation my mother laid is not a registered nurse with a beautiful family living the American