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Jasmine McSwain

Mrs. Maciulewicz

ENG 1101

14 December 2020

Child Poverty

Child poverty is a big issue, there are so many families in the United States and around

the world that are struggling with poverty. Many factors can go into this with being in poverty as

a child. One would be malnutrition and how children are not getting the correct amount of what

they need to grow and develop. It isn’t healthy for children and it stunts their growth. Family

issues also cause emotional and physical effects on the children too. Depending on their

background and family they can experience abuse and trauma, that can last them a lifetime.

Helping these kids is very essential for their health in general. Teachers at the school can notice

their behavior and get them help so they don’t feel alone.

One big issue is nutrition for the children in poverty. Children in poverty don’t get the

nutrients they need to grow. The Ministry of Planning, Cambodia, & NIS, 2017, points out that,

“Approximately one in every three children has stunted growth and therefore risks not meeting

his or her developmental potential” (Karpati 2). This is an example of how poverty affects a

child with nutrition and food. If they don’t have access to food or the parents don’t have enough

to buy food the child will suffer. Being a child, if you don’t have the proper fibers and minerals

the children won’t grow at the rate they should. Poverty is happening worldwide, not just the

United States. In the article, Karpati states, “Cambodia is the second‐poorest country in

Southeast Asia, with more than one third of the population living under the poverty threshold of

USD 1.90/day” (2). This shows that poverty is more common than it really should be. Showing
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this means that a lot of families with kids are struggling and limiting the education and health of

the children in poverty. One thing in the United States that really helps is an after school program

that serves dinner for the kids. This is a small way to help them get a meal before they go home

because some parents can’t provide them with one.

The main issue with child poverty is the parents. This by itself has a huge impact on

children because parents are who they look up to and learn from. When parents are gone trying

to get enough money to live their kids are not getting the help they need. An article talks about

how sports and activities help kids get through tough times. Dixon said, “Homelessness is

depressing. It’s heartbreaking. The only thing that kept me going was basketball, my daughter

and my coach” (Wertheim and Rodriguez 54). This shows how even though she was going

through hard times, she had something to look forward to which in this case was a sport. They

may have a lot going on at home but at least they can look forward to people being there to help

them with homework. Things like abuse mentally or physically, usually coming from their

parents, really affects a child as well. Actions like this will make the child’s future hard because

they remember all the bad events that happen and it makes it harder to be successful later in life.

Lamb explains, “I always smiled and joked, but my friends never knew what I went home to,

what my parents

and I were going through.” (Wertheim and Rodriguez 56). This is a huge point that explains why

some would never guess what a child has gone through with his family in poverty. It is necessary

to get help for these people that want it so they can flourish as well. What the parents are going

through definitely affects the child as well and they may have to be forced to grow up faster than

they should so they can help their family.

The government a lot of the time tries to help with people in poverty. The problem is

everyone that needs help doesn’t always get what they need. In this article Madrick states, “1 in

3 children does not receive the full benefits of these programs because their parents do not earn

enough to be eligible for them” (24). This is a huge issue because many children are not getting

benefits and are really struggling because of it. It isn’t their fault because they can’t work and

can’t help that their parents are having trouble. The author came up with a solution that says, “A

family with two children receiving $300 to $400 a month per child could improve their standard

of living immediately. Money can buy food, heat, coats, eyeglasses and regular doctors’ visits,

including transportation, and help pay for childcare. It can also help reduce family stress and

help parents provide a psychologically nourishing environment in which learning and social

development can germinate” (Madrick 24). This would be a great solution to a lot of problems

being the food problem, the doctor and eye doctor visits, and their health in general. It also

would help with the family aspect of it because it is lessening stress and makes for a better

environment for the child. This was just an idea that Madrick had, but it would be a great start to

helping children in need have a better life in general.

Sometimes it may feel like a dead end that is just impossible to fix. The author Neuman

states,“The painful truth is that we have done almost nothing to raise or change the trajectory of

achievement for our disadvantaged children” (582). This shows there is limited amount of help

in this area and there needs to be more that we can do. This article about using science to change

the odds about child risk is really talking about how by changing some outlooks it can help kids

in poverty have a better chance. In the article it says, “...the extraordinary role that environment

plays in children’s development. Acknowledging its malleability, each modified the environment

to maximize children’s potential. Involving the primary caregivers in their children’s education,
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each regarded the family as a learning unit that is a critical part of the solution” (586). This

basically talks about how people realize how much a child’s environment has on their

development. This, along with their emotions and how they deal with situations or physical like

food. Without the help of the parents they may go a separate path and not have that teaching they

should have because they may also have to act like an adult.

A huge cause of poverty now is COVID and how more people have lost their jobs.

Families need help more than ever because having kids makes having enough money to live that

much harder. Because of COVID kids may have to go online and not be in person at school. This

can cause many problems and make it difficult to learn. Elementary children really need to know

the fundamentals to continue on in life. When school is online it makes it harder for them to

learn, especially when parents aren’t around to help. This means more than ever children are

struggling even more with schooling and life in general. Some of the after school programs may

not be open because there is no school. The kids have nowhere to go and a lot of them have to be

home alone. Many children are just not motivated enough to complete school assignments.

Another reason is that they just don’t understand and have no one to really help them. It is

important more than ever to see these children and get them help with schooling so they don’t

fall too far behind and it will be easier in the future.

Children all over the world are suffering with poverty and health issues occur from itoff

of this. Parents aren’t there to help the children with school, especially when it is online.

Children aren’t getting the nutrition they need to develop. Poor environment settings also stunt

children with their health mentally and physically. A huge help with this that won’t fix the issue

but really aids the problem is after school programs. HWith helping the kids with their
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homework makes it is making one less they have to do and providesis providing them with

someone to teach them.

Works Cited

Karpati, Julia. “Improving Children’s Nutritional Status in Cambodia: Multidimensional

Poverty and Early Integrated Interventions.” Maternal & Child Nutrition, vol. 16,

October 2020, pp. 1-10. Food Science Source, DOI:10.1111/mcn.12731.

Madrick, Jeff. “A Solution to Child Poverty.” TIME Magazine. vol. 19, no.3, February 3

2020, pp. 23-24.

https://eds-b-ebscohost-com.sinclair.ohionet.org/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?

vid=3&sid=47991a3-3df8-4a93-ba52-f36473d8bfd1%40sessionmgr4008.

Neuman, Susan. “Use the Science of What Works to Change the Odds for Children at

Risk.” Phi Delta Kappan. vol. 90, no.8, April 2009, pp. 582-587. https://eds-a-ebscohost-

com.sinclair.ohionet.org/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=5&sid=5910f720-2f8b-4eb6-

8dd7-e739ecfbfb05%40pdc-v-sessmgr03.

Wertheim, Jon and Rodriguez, Ken. “Young, Gifted, and Homeless.” Sports Illustrated,

vol. 121, no.1, October 20 2014, pp. 52. https://eds-a-ebscohost-

com.sinclair.ohionet.org/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=2&sid=a8d05efc-7131-414e-

96be-729fa74dfb54%40sessionmgr103.