Poverty In Early Childhood Education

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Poverty can be described as a lack of essential things that one needs to function daily. The United States is one of the highest of developed nations in the world with a high rate of child poverty. One in five children lives at or below the official poverty line Pac, Nam, Waldfogel, & Wimer (2017) Living in poverty has been known to affect a child’s development from very early on in life, and continues to have effects into early adolescence and adulthood. Studies have shown that living in poverty has led to a higher mortality rate among infants. With that, there is a much higher risk of abuse and neglect in homes that are facing the hardships of living in a poverty-stricken home. It has also been attributed with negatively affecting a child’s …show more content…
It can lead a child to experience anxiety, depression, and trauma early on in life and ultimately can lead to self-harming tendencies in later childhood years. Children that grow up in traumatic environments that are poverty driven often do very poorly academically. Toxic stress in early childhood leads to lasting impacts on learning (linguistic, cognitive and social-emotional skills), behavior and health. These impacts are likely manifested in some of the precursors to dropping out, including low achievement, chronic absenteeism and misbehavior, as well as a host of strategies, attitudes and behaviors — sometimes referred to as “noncogntive” skills — linked to school success (Rumberger, 2013) When a child is constantly worried about the life they have at home, it can make it increasingly difficult to concentrate on their education. School becomes something that is no longer a priority, but an escape from the hardships they endure at home. Trying to focus on school work is increasingly difficult and often becomes unimportant to children. Attitudes toward education and towards others at school begin to become more negative or in some cases hostile. Acting out in class becomes common and many kids face disciplinary action that can lead to detentions or expulsion in extreme cases. If not for that, many children begin to have more absences from school because they choose not to go. Some find that they cannot attend school because they …show more content…
What’s worse is that most of these children die from causes that are completely preventable. Families living in low income situations often cannot afford health care. Children aren’t getting the proper immunizations at an early age and do not get to see a health care provider to ensure they are developing normally. The cost of a doctor’s visit, drugs to treat illnesses, and even transportation to health care centers is often far more than a family living below the poverty line can afford. This had devastating effects on the health of so many in this country that are struggling to make ends meet. Without proper medical care the immune system becomes drastically weakened. Ultimately, many succumb to illnesses that the general population would not consider to be life threatening. There is nothing normal or inevitable about elevated poverty levels and stagnant incomes. They are the direct result of policy choices that put wealth and income into the hands of a few at the expense of growing a strong middle(lower) class,” (Vallas & Boteach, 2014) The decisions made by policy makers in this country are directly linked to the amount we either help, or hurt, the Americans struggling everyday with poverty. There are many steps that can be taken to create change in this country and better the lives of many American families. More jobs need to be created. The government needs to invest in strategies that would
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