Effects Of Childhood n Poverty

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The Effects of Poverty on Children and their Development Poverty is a very emotional issue and it affects a significant number of children in this country. “Nearly 16 million American children live in families with incomes below the federal poverty level, which is $21,657 a year for a family of four. The number of children living in poverty increased by 11% between 2007 and 2009. There are 1.2 million more children living in poverty today than in 2001” (Cauthen, 2009). As we know there are various causes for poverty depending on how you define it. To understand poverty in America, it is important to look at the actual living conditions of the individuals. For most Americans, the word "poverty" suggests destitution: an inability to provide a family with nutritious food, clothing, and reasonable shelter. Poverty in America is a bigger problem than most people realize. It seems that a many of us think that only minorities are affected by poverty. It does not matter who is impoverished no matter what color or what race they are, a portion of individuals need help and many people aren’t willing to give help. Since doing my research on poverty, it has opened my mind up more to what a countless number of people in paucity have to go through to even live, and how hard it is to get everything they need to live. A percentage of people, me being one, do not really know how living in poverty feels, and that might be the problem. You have to ask the question, what does it really mean to be poor in America? There is no single description of American poverty. But for many, perhaps most, it means homes with inadequate heating, unstable plumbing, no electricity, dead end jobs and a lack of higher education if any at all. It often means a home where some go to bed hungry and malnutrition is very frequent or even living on the streets. For almost all the poverty stricken families

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