Adolescent and Infant Poverty
Imagine living in a community where every minute of every day where somebody is hungry, under clothed, and at risk of death because that person is poor. Now imagine waking up and the biggest problem of the day is which sweater to wear with which jeans. Wealthy people around the world are not aware of how immense an issue poverty is and are sometimes hesitant to believe the scale that poverty has risen to. Without the upper classes understanding poverty families who are disadvantaged cannot be adequately helped. Poverty occurs in all countries. Child poverty affects child development, school life, and home life.
In today’s society infants and adolescents are more likely to be raised in poverty. Yasemin Ozkan
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A direct effect of poverty in adolescents is an increased risk for under nutrition and overweight due to food insecurities (Engle and Black). Low income families are hungry twenty five percent of the time and often suffer from malnutrition (Ozkan). Hanson said, “living in poverty places adolescents at high risk of problems across a variety of domains, for example poor housing.” Low-income families have an increased chance of living in a poor neighborhood with exposure to violence and less family support (Govender). Yasemin Ozkan said, “Adolescents living in poverty often are socially isolated and are painfully aware of the shame associated with poverty.” Older orphans show a problem with anxiety or depression, while younger orphans show a problem with being nice and talking (Govender). Poverty is sad because that adolescent does not experience any fun activities or make friends. Many poverty adolescents do not have friends because everybody sees that person as gross or not dressed well enough to be seen with. Over three-fourth of poverty orphans are depressed or have other problems that is not that orphans …show more content…
A poor infant is more likely to be born prematurely, at low birth weight, have a birth defect, have a disability, have fetal alcohol syndrome, or have AIDS/HIV (Govender). Kaymarlin Govender stated that early health problems often emanate from poor prenatal care, maternal substance abuse, and poor nutrition during pregnancy, maternal lifestyles that increase the likelihood of infections, and living in a neighborhood that contains hazards affecting fetal development. After birth, poor infants are more likely to suffer injuries, have a sickness, and possibly die (Govender). During childhood, poverty is implicated in many diseases, including respiratory illnesses (Govender). Govender stated that poverty, also, is associated with an increased likelihood of dental caries, higher blood lead levels, iron deficiency, stunting, and sensory impairment. Kaymarlin Govender said that these outcomes likely reflect an array of conditions associated with poverty, including inadequate nutrition, exposure to tobacco smoke, failure to receive recommended immunizations, and inadequate access to health care. Pregnant women that live in poverty should try and receive Medicaid, food stamps, or some help so the infant will be born healthy and have no effects. Many infants born in poverty will have defects and will not be able to receive treatment because the parent does not have the money to pay for healthcare,
It is not difficult to document that poor children suffer a disproportionate share of deprivation, hardship, and bad outcomes. More than 16 million children in the United States – 22% of all children – live in families with incomes below the federal poverty level – $23,550 a year for a family of four. (Truman, 2005) Living in poverty rewires children 's brains and reports show that it produces prolonged effects. Also, growing up in a community with dangerous streets, gangs, confused social expectations, discouraging role models, and few connections to outsiders commanding resources becomes a burden for any child. The concern about the number of children living in poverty arises from our knowledge of the problems children face because of poverty.
Whether you're white, African-American, or Hispanic, poverty for today's youth has many recurring themes. A recent article by Duncan and Brooks for The Education Digest points out some very discerning facts that face today's poor youth. "Low Income is linked with a variety of poor outcomes for children, from low birth weight and poor nutrition in infancy to increased chances of academic failure, emotional distress, and unwed childbirth in adolescence." (Duncan& Brooks, pg. 1). They also claim that low-income preschoolers show poorer cognitive and verbal skills because they are exposed to fewer toys, books, and other brain-stimulating items at home than their higher-income classmates.
Poverty is not just an issue reserved for third world countries. Instead, poverty is a multifaceted issue that even the most developed nations must battle
According to the Children's Defense Fund, 13.5 million children living in America today are poor, and 5.8 million of them are living in extreme poverty, with incomes below half the poverty line. The issues related to poverty -- from substandard housing and malnutrition, to inadequate health and child care services, to severe emotional stress and violence -- are complex and interconnected. Therefore, attempting to understand the problem and propose possible solutions appears to be an overwhelming task. Garbarino effectively provides a lens through which to view the social forces affecting childhood development. Aletha Huston, on the other hand, in her book Children in Poverty: Child Development and Public Policy, proposes a "child-centered" analysis, which focuses on the child's healthy development as "a goal in its own right," rather than as part of a larger social-economic context.
One of the main causes of poverty is a lack of money. There are some families that do have at least one person employed in the household but the money earned is not enough to provide for the family. Tough decisions such as paying rent buying groceries become a daily challenge for struggling households. Those living in households headed by people with no high school degree are the most likely to enter poverty. Limited options in the job market make it hard for those without degrees the ability to find jobs that will pay above minimum wage. Many Americans earn less than the nation’s median income which hinders most Americans from living a life free of hunger. Children who grow up in poverty suffer more persistent, frequent, and severe health problems than do children who grow up under better financial circumstances. Children of poverty are at an extreme disadvantage and cycle ends up repeating itself until the pattern is somehow
Poverty has many influences on children under the age of 16. The research fined out that in recent year, an increasing number of children become poor, live under the poverty condition- childhood poverty lasted 10 years or more. So, what does the poverty exactly mean to children? According to Brook-Gunn and Duncan, The kids who live in the poverty condition have the low quality of schools; more likely to have domestic violence and become homeless; less access to friends, services, etc. (Brooks-Gunn et all, 1997) That points out the disadvantage and how the family income influence youngsters overall childhood, since under the poverty condition, they children do not have enough money to support for their necessary needs, they will more likely to have low self-confidence and hard to blend in with their peers. Poverty has impact on children’s achievement in several different ways. Payne (2003) maintained that the poverty could affect children achievement though emotional, mental, financial, and role models (Payne, 2003). Thus, the children from low-income family are more likely to have self-destructive behavior, lack of control emotional response and lack of necessary intellectual, that is really important for the students under the age of 16. Nevertheless, the children who suffer from poverty are usually have low birth weight and low cognitive ability
Everyone knows what the word poverty means. It means poor, unable to buy the necessities to survive in today's world. We do not realize how easy it is for a person to fall into poverty: A lost job, a sudden illness, a death in the family or the endless cycle of being born into poverty and not knowing how to overcome it. There are so many children in poverty and a family's structure can effect the outcome. Most of the people who are at the poverty level need some type of help to overcome the obstacles. There are mane issues that deal with poverty and many things that can be done to stop it.
As a consequence, low-income households suffer more health problems due to the lack of income. "Despite social assistance programs such as TANF, Women, Infants and children (WIC), food stamps, and Meals on Wheels, malnutrition exists primary among the old and the young in the United States". The American health care system which is based on ability to pay is not adequate to provide immediate services to poor people. Among the common health problems associated with children in poverty include asthma, lead poisoning and vision deficiency. (Koppelman and Goodhart, 2007)
begins before they are born. Pregnant women of low income are less likely to seek prenatal help
Poverty is “the inability to acquire enough money to meet basic needs including food, clothing and shelter” (Gosselin,2009). This social disadvantage limits one’s ability to receive a quality education and it is a constant problem throughout the world accompanied with“deleterious impacts on almost all aspects of family life and outcomes for children”(Ravallion,1992). Poverty is a main factor that affects normal human growth and development in a variety of ways, primarily impacting children’s early development, social behaviour, health, and self worth.
When analyzing children growing up in poverty a lot of factors come into play such as their physical, psychological and emotional development. To grow up in poverty can have long term effect on a child. What should be emphasized in analyzing the effects of poverty on children is how it has caused many children around the world to suffer from physical disorders, malnutrition, and even diminishes their capacities to function in society. Poverty has played a major role in the functioning of families and the level of social and emotional competency that children are able to reach. Children in poverty stricken families are exposed to greater and emotional risks and stress level factors.
This nation has a problem: more of its citizens rely on the federal government for help than to support themselves with a full time job. Poverty has many negative effects on the people who suffer from it and on the economy. Everyone needs to be made aware of poverty and the many negative effects it has on people. There are things that could be done to help reduce the amount of people that are in poverty. Reducing poverty would decrease health risks, strengthen the middle class, and help the democracy.
The effects of poverty can affect a parent’s mental health that can directly impact children. Mental health problems that parents in poverty face can be related to the stress of not having enough money to care for the children. Other mental health problems, like depression, can als...
Poverty is prevalent throughout the world around us. We watch television and see famous people begging us to sponsor a child for only ten dollars a month. We think in our own minds that ten dollars is only pocket change, but to those children and their families, that ten dollars is a large portion of their annual income. We see images of starving children in far away countries, and our hearts go out to them. But we really do not know the implications of poverty, why it exists, or even what we can do to help combat this giant problem in our world.
Due to poverty, it can effect so many people around you. Children whose parents suffer from poverty go through more severe illnesses than those who are raised under better living condi...