FREE ESSAY ON CHILDHOOD POVERTY

CHILDHOOD POVERTY

Childhood Poverty
We as Americans are extremely lucky. We live in a big country with many resources and
almost all the luxuries we ever wanted. On the flip side, in America there are also many
people who do not have these privileges. The lower class is a struggling class. For many
years, people have been trying to pull themselves up from the lower class and the
majority does not succeed. Childhood poverty is a large problem in the U.S. It is said
that the poorest people in the United States are the children of the lower class.
Childhood poverty could lead to a number of problems such as hunger, violence, physical
and mental disabilities, educational problems, homelessness, family stress, sickness, and
too-early parenthood. The sad truth is that living in poverty lowers a child's chance to
grow into a healthy, well-adjusted adult who will contribute to society.
The number of people who are classified as the working class poor has increased. It has
also been proven that work by itself will not keep a family out of poverty. As for
government assistance for families in poverty, it has been decreasing. The government
argued that families were not using all the services, which were available to them.
In today's society, the amounts of single-parent households are increasing and this is
another reason for the existence of childhood poverty. Statistics show that children
living in single-parent homes are five times more likely to be poor. More people are
getting divorced and are also having children outside of wedlock. It has also been said
that women rather than men head about 90% of single-parent families. One of the
reasons why these particular families are so poor is because out of all divorced fathers,
only 50% help support their child financially. As we are still see today, women in the
work force have a hard time trying to earn as much as men. This makes things much more
difficult, especially for those women whom are single teen parents. Teenage mothers are
more likely to drop out of high school and be dependent on welfare. The level of
education for the parents is also another aspect of poverty. Other characteristics that
contribute to poverty parents are their emotional status, or even mental retardation.
Children are faced with many consequences due to growing up in poverty. Most children who
live in poverty go to poor unsuitable schools, live in unexceptable housing, and grow up
around more violence and crime than any other parent would wish for their child. As soon
as the child is born into poverty, they begin to feel the effects of it. They tend to
have low birth weight and contain a higher risk of dying during infancy. We watched a
video in class that showed that poverty could take a toll on the child's learning
capabilities, and health status. There were stories of children with hyperactivity
problems, chronic ear infections which caused hearing loss, and even children who were
not receiving the proper amount of nutrients to be able to grow and function correctly.
The first years of a child's life are the most crucial because most of the development of
the brain occurs then.
A large problem of childhood poverty is malnutrition. Since these children are growing up
in poverty, many of the parents have a hard time supplying food for their kids.
Surprisingly, there are millions of children a year, which experience malnutrition.
Effects of this problem are hunger, fatigue, dizziness, and re-occurring colds, ear
infections, and headaches, they are more irritable, and of course unnecessary weight
loss. Not having the proper amount of food supply could also cause iron-deficiency anemia
and growth stunt. Anemia is the most common health result of malnutrition. Statistics say
that it is three times more likely in preschool children than in children in general. 
I was personally surprised at some of the facts regarding childhood poverty. Statistics
also showed that children living in poverty (ages 1-5) are three times more likely to
suffer from lead poisoning than children in average-income families. It is said that this
is generally due to the poor conditioning of their homes. For instance, older homes are
generally "out of shape". Also, lead-based paints are used on and inside these houses.
Children, whom reside in these homes, the air that they breathe in contains dust that is
created after the paint starts to deteriorate. They might even eat the paint chips
because that is the type of thing that children do. Lead poisoning could lead to hearing
loss, may stunt growth, causes problems pertaining to kidney development, production of
blood, and may also damage the central nervous system and the brain. Lead poisoning may
also put a child at risk of Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
Extremely high amount of lead in the blood of a child's body could lead to problems such
as convulsions, coma, mental retardation, or possibly even death.
Many people, in not all people who live in poverty, do not have health insurance.
Children can generally be placed on their parents insurance through a work program, but
unfortunately the amount of children which the insurance allows them has been decreasing.
The Child Health Insurance Program (CHIP) became effective in October '97 and was
proposed to be helpful for as many as five million children over a span of the next ten
years.
A set back from the lack of no health insurance means those children experience "episodic
health care". When they need to see a physician, they must go to the emergency room for
medical assistance. They do not go for routinely check-ups. Most of the time, the parents
are not informed about information such as childproofing their house, immunizations, or
balanced diets. 
In 1997, the U.S. Conference of Mayors conducted a survey, which showed that the number
of families with children that live in shelters was represented b 36%. Financially
challenged children are over three times more likely to reside in homes which are
inadequate, crowded, etc, than those children whom are not poor. They also have more of a
chance of living without heat or possibly even other utilities. Because of their
financial status, these children are at the disadvantage. They have no other choice but
to have money for sufficient resources or even the most qualified employees.
Most typically, poor children are raised in crime filled neighborhoods. The area is
generally filled with many families with little space for everyone. Children are more
susceptible to hang around or look up to more negative role models, the area is not as
safe as it could or should be, and their parents are at a disadvantage with their jobs
because of where they are.
Violence has been rated high among children in poor neighborhoods. The fact that parents
are poor puts their children at a higher risk of being neglected or even abused. There
have been some cases where parents have caused injuries, which lead to death. Children
who were abused are more likely to abuse their own children in the future. Over the years
there have been many programs to help rid us of childhood poverty. This is a problem that
has been around for a while. You could think of it as a pile of garbage in the corner
that has been building up and accumulating for sometime now. The issue here is that in
order to terminate childhood poverty, the solution must aid both the child and the
caregiver. Also, we as Americans must value our children. They are our future, and as
their families we are the most important institution shaping their lives. 
Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) is a cash benefit that was established to
help out poor families to being self-supporting. In 1996, the Personal Responsibility and
Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) replaced AFDC with the Temporary Assistance
for Needy Families (TANF) block grant. TANF gives the individual states the option to aid
all qualifying families. The PRWORA requires that their recipients work eligible for TANF
benefits. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) supplies cash benefits monthly for those
people whom are of the age 65 and older, blind, or disabled and do not have much to their
name or a big income. The overall idea is that in order for progress to occur or for
childhood poverty to decrease, they need to have programs that benefit the parents as
well as their children. 
A child is an incredible gift. As a pre-parent, you anxiously wait for nine months for
the biggest and toughest job of you life…parenthood. Along with parenthood comes
the largest amount of responsibility anyone has even been faced with. Their job is to
raise their children, and show them the world. Everything is brand new to them, and as a
parent, they are the ones who will be introducing their children to everything. The last
thing any parent would want for their child is to have tem grow up in poverty. Every year
we spend so much money to report to the public that there are children living in poverty.
Why spend millions of dollars campaigning an issue which his already known worldwide?
That money should be taken and used to help people lift their children and themselves out
of poverty. Progress will not be made of we are just going to sit their and cry about it.
Childhood poverty is a large issue, which has been and still needs to be dealt with.