Childhood Poverty

594 Words2 Pages

According to Evans and Fuller-Rowell (2013), childhood poverty activates more chronic stress resulting in an achievement gap once the children start school. Researchers conduct various amounts of experiments and studies every year, but several researchers are focusing on an impending situation involving childhood poverty and how poverty affects the children’s memory as they grow into young adults. The stress level and situations that accompany poverty is a concern to society because without functioning citizens, how can the community survive as a whole? Documented evidence proves “children from lower-income households arrive at school behind in reading and math” (Evans & Fuller-Rowell, 2013, p.688) resulting in more kids dropping out earlier …show more content…

Tests and studies have been performed showing that “elevated levels of chronic stress during early childhood accounted for… childhood poverty and deficits in adult working memory” (Evans & Fuller-Rowell, 2013, p.688) resulting in a lack of cognitive development where the children in poverty have a hard time developing intellectual growth and capabilities (Feldman, 2014, p.5). In today’s society people have a hard time sustaining a healthy comfortable life without a college degree therefore, imagine not even graduating high school or receiving a GED. This is what children struggling in poverty are facing as they begin their lives. Development and learning during childhood is critical and continuous because everything kids learn growing up, in school or watching others, will build on another until the child has his or her own personality and intelligence of the world around them (Feldman, 2014). This fact makes childhood a critical period because this time during “development has its greatest consequences and presence of certain kinds of environmental stimuli which is necessary for development to proceed” in the children’s lives (Feldman, 2014, p.10). This issue needs to be addresses more often because I believe that childhood poverty is a big deal mainly because the kids we raise now will eventually be leaders and caretakers of us later and they will have children. It is a never ending cycle that should be

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