The Impact Of Childhood Poverty

Statement of the Problem There are too many children living in poverty. To understand the problem one must first look at the definition of poverty. The definition used by the government to benchmark a family’s economic struggle is clear-cut: A specific dollar amount for yearly income is used as a starting point for families of a given size in a given year, and if the family falls below that line they are considered to be living in poverty (Abner, Morris, & Raver, 2012). There are other ways poverty can be defined such as, “relative poverty”, “subjective poverty”, and “family self-sufficiency” (Abner, Morris, & Raver, 2012), However, for the purposes of this paper the definition of the government will be used. Over 16 million children in the

Childhood poverty in early childhood especially deep poverty, is connected to a broad range of problems in physical-biological, cognitive-academic, and social-emotional development (Duncan & Brooks-Gunn, 1997). These problems can persist into adulthood. Abner, Morris, & Raver (2012), say that “poverty itself is a major contributor to many of the most serious social problems facing our nation,” this includes widening health and academic disparities.

Children living in poverty are more likely to not have access to quality, preventative health care and have more hospitalizations and deaths than those children who are not in poverty (Effect on Child, n.d.). Children born to mothers living in poverty have a greater chance of being premature and to have difficulties at birth due to exposure to toxins in poor neighborhoods, smoking or drug use of the mother, and lack of prenatal care (Özkan, 2010). Children born into poverty are more likely to have high lead levels and the disabilities that come from high lead levels (Effect on Child, n.d.). They are also more likely to have respiratory illnesses, dental problems and sensory impairment (Özkan, 2010). Miller and Chen (2013),