CHILD POVERTY

Child Poverty

Child Poverty

Introduction

Poverty can be hard to describe at times especially when engaging children. Last year, 35.9 million Americans - encompassing 13 million children - lived in scarcity. There is no need for these types of rates, especially when it arrives to our children. Children in poverty are matters that cannot be ignored in today's society. Over approaching progeny scarcity would take tremendous power and strength from everyone in the joined States. While we are the most wealthy homeland, we grade highest in progeny scarcity rates among rich countries (Sampson 1997, p.277). The thing that most people overlook is the insufficient nutrition along with job loss and housing that is overcrowded. Some people like to believe that these children do not exist and everyone is happy and carefree.

There are many low-income people in the United States; a huge number of them are children. In 2003, the government classified 35.9 million men, women, and children 12.5 percent of the U.S. population as poor (Macionis, 2006, p87). A person being poor is another word for a person being in poverty. Poverty can be defined in many ways, for example, inadequate income can make a family be below the poverty line. The home environment can also add to the poverty issue because, most homes that look in disrepair mean that the family living inside might not have the income to fix things. When a family is in the poverty zone they feel bad and inadequate which can make them unwilling to ask for help. This can be harmful to the children because they do not have a say when the adults need help.

Body: Discussion and Analysis

A child in poorer family can also have poor health due to inadequate healthcare and routine visits. Lower income families try to buy enough food for everyone but, this does not always carry the vitamins and nutrients a growing child needs. The nutritious and healthy food is not always low cost and can be hard for a low-income family to afford. A number of nutritious meals takes time to prepare and when guardians work all day they probably do not feel like or have time to cook a full course meal. For example, a single mother works in a pizza parlor to support her children, every night the owner lets her take a free pizza home, this is good to eat but does not supply the every day nutrients a child needs. A child who does not get adequate nutrition can suffer academically (Berger, 2009, p56).

Children who reside in poverty endure hardships in academics, social difficulties and occasionally physical problems. Children who live in low-income homes are more likely to have problems in school, making friends and staying healthy. When children from lower income families attend school they can be ridiculed due to them not having the best clothes or the right supplies. This takes a toll on their self-esteem and socializing, the children will continue to be nervous about these ...