Poverty and Child Development

Worldwide, the number of children affected by poverty is mounting. One in five children in the United States lives in poverty. More often than not poverty is accompanied by low parental education, unhealthy emotional and physical environment (e.g., child maltreatment, acute hunger, homelessness among others).
 Despite the warning from experts such as Gorski, (2008) that poverty does not necessarily translate to uninvolved, abusive and uncaring parenting, current research on the field that highlights poverty as a deterrent of healthy child development. In fact, poverty is classified as a toxic stress0r defined as “strong, frequent, and/or prolonged activation of the body’s stress-management systems” (Shonkoff, 2006, p. 2189). 
Additionally, some of the populations that have been affected by low achievement in academic performances and social emotional maturation are those living in poverty. Even more alarming is the argument that “children who slip into poverty, even for a short time, suffer long-term setbacks even when their families regain their economic footing” (Takanishi, as cited Novotney, 2010, para. 4). 

Consequently, as a professional in this field, I feel the urgency to gain knowledge in effectively responding to the need of these children. I believe addressing poverty entails that educators become well-versed in the current research, become aware of the community services that support and strengthen the families and above all become caring and compassionate about the children’s issues. Ultimately, educators have to be willing to change their teaching to individually respond to the child’s needs. 

Sources:

Gorski, P. (2008, April). The Myth of the culture of poverty. Educational Leadership, 32-36.

Novotney, A. (2010, September). The recession’s toll on children. Monitor on Psychology, 41(8), 42-45. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/monitor/2010/09/recession.aspx