Why Should We Care About Child Poverty in the Uk?

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Why should we care about child poverty in the UK? The United Kingdom is one of the richest countries in the world; I always thought poverty was a disease often linked with Third World and developing countries, where the result is often death from starvation or curable disease. Even though this extreme form of poverty is hardly ever seen in the UK but mainly more on the media, there is still more prudent form of poverty which is still taking place in the UK, one which can be recognized is having less money and lower living standards than others in the same society. There are many different reasons for child poverty. Apart from the main direct cause like unemployment, poverty in our society today is the low paid, lone parents and children. However poverty can have a great impact on a child’s life. The people as well as the children who are poor could suffer greatly from problems such as social exclusion, employment, education, mental and physical health and social interaction. This is one fact why child poverty is a direct result of adult poverty, however unlike an adult, experiencing poverty as a child can have lifelong consequences in the future lifespan if they are not helped early age. Poverty is measured in two ways, namely absolute and relative poverty. 'Absolute poverty' measures the number of people living below a certain income level or the number of households who are unable to afford the basics such as goods and services. 'Relative poverty' measures the degree of financial resources families have, and whether they fall below a certain level of income. Parents face the difficult decision When a child is born, as the family’s income is spread further, the parents must decide whether to return to work or to stay at home; however some parents will be supported by the welfare system but the current system of increasing benefits by inflation is causing a
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