Poverty in Childhood

Poverty and Children’s Development




The early childhood years are critical times for development and growth. Poverty, which is living below a certain amount of income, is a particular stressor for children and families. Children that live at or below the poverty line may not have access to quality education, nutrition, or medical care. In the United States there are several programs designed to help children who fall in this category. One is the Medicare/Medicaid program, which serves under income children and provides them with access to quality medical care. Another program is Head Start, which serves low-income children and families with the hopes of giving them an equal “head start” as they enter their school careers. The United States has developed these programs to give children necessary aide; however, they do not always act as an equalizer.

A friend of mine was listed in the poverty status as a child. While we were in school, he received free breakfast and lunch daily. Our school also provided him with clothes and supplies through some type of aide program. Although my friend technically lived in poverty, he was fortunate in the fact that he did not know he did. He had two wonderful, caring parents who gave him a lot of affection and care while he was growing up. My friend only had three school outfits but they were always clean. When he entered high school, he got a job and starting helping his parents. As he grew, he just accepted that he was not able to do things that other children did. My friend is now a college graduate and has a decent salary working for a distributing company.

In other parts of the world, unfortunately children may not be so lucky. The slums of India are over-crowded with little to no modern amenities like running water and electricity. According to The Economist (2007) many families live in a “home” that is no larger than 90 square feet with only a single water tap exists for every ten homes. While there is plenty of work in this area the jobs do not pay well. Children are sent to school but only sporadically. However, there are new programs like the Rural School project, which is attempting to get more children in schools by building more schools in rural areas. Thirty-eight percent (380 million people) of India’s population live below the poverty line.