Poverty And Child Development

8 Pages 1996 Words

inated. A child that goes to school hungry, even if not malnourished, will have greater difficulty focusing their efforts than a well fed one. An individual who is hungry will eventually become hypoglycemic, a condition in which blood sugar levels fall. The symptoms of hypoglycemia range from fatigue, sleepiness, irritability, headache, and decreased mental alertness. Many children that are perceived as having behavior problems may actually have a nutrition problem. All of this is assuming that one is fortunate enough to live in an industrialized nation.
Children in poor countries do not attend school unless they are the sire of wealthy parents, thus sealing their fate as impoverished individuals. In many countries no child labor laws exist and therefore a child is seen as a productive worker. Often these children work as many hours as an adult. In all fairness the harshness of life in many countries dictates that having one’s children educated is a luxury they can not afford even if state funded schools exist. The family contribution theory extends even to the children.
The first image of poverty that enters most people’s minds is that of a third world nation, children of industrialized nation’s are not immune. “The United States’ child poverty rate is substantially higher- often two-to-three times higher- than that of any other major western industrialized nation (Child Poverty in the United States” 2000).” Canada has its share of problems as well. “Canada has the second highest child poverty rate when compared against 17 other industrialized nations around the world, second only to the United States (“What We Know” 1997).” Poverty often results in a less healthy population than would be otherw...