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Kymberly Davis
D. Watkins
English 1213 TR@10:30
21 April 2015
Why Children in Poverty Matter.
For many citizens in the United States, poverty is not a term they would associate with
our country. To most people hungry and homeless children are only in third-world countries
when the truth is, it is right here in front of us. Childhood poverty is on the rise and had risen up
to 13% between 2007 and 2013. (Child Poverty) In the United States the poverty rate was 14.5
percent in 2013. That is 45.3 million people, and out of these 45.3 million people, 14.7 million
are children under 18 years of age. (United States Census Bureau) What do these statistics mean
to the reader of this article? Why should they care? They should care because these statistics are
not just numbers, they represent real people who are neighbors, friends, and family. Poverty,
homelessness, and huger is effecting millions of children around the United States in many ways
such as their physical health, behavior, and their future achievements. The population of the
United States needs to realize that poverty does not just effect those in third world countries and
that it is happening right here in our own backyards.
Many children all over the United States are effected by poverty and what issues it can
causes. In fact 1 out of 4 of Oklahomas children were poor in the year 2012. That is a total of
221,623 children or roughly 21% of our states children. (Barth) Poverty in children can affect the
way a child feels about themselves or their situation. Children can often feel as though it is their
fault that their parents are suffering financially. Children often time take on the familys burdens
and can feels as though it is their fault and this can cause changes in their behavior and the way

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they interact with others. In an interview with 60 minute host Bob Simon interviewed a young
boy who confessed to him how he felt that living in poverty has changed him. Poverty has taken
away his home and his confidence. He told viewers that his friends used to tell him that he talked
to much and that now they say that he hardly talks at all. He and his mother now live with their
neighbors and he says that he is hardly able to get up and use the bathroom at night because he
fears that he might get his family kicked out of their temporary living situation. In this 60
minutes video clip they depict a very different America, one where school buses have to go to
cheap motels in order to pick up their students. (Hard Times Generation) These children are the
kids that a parent might see talking to their own child at lunch or during school activities.
It has been studied that children who live in low income families suffer from two types of
emotional problems that manifest in two different ways: internal and external. Internal takes the
face of depression, anxiety, and becoming socially withdrawn while external takes the form of
aggression, fighting, and acting out. (Brooks-Gun and Duncan) Poverty does not just mentally
effect children, it can also harm them physically. Children can be physically effected by poverty
before they have even left the womb. One study that used data from the NLSY to examine the
relationship between family income and low birth weight did findamong whites, women with
family income below the federal poverty level in the year of birth were 80% more likely to have
a low birth weight baby as compared with women whose family incomes were above the poverty
level,. (Brooks-Gun and Duncan) According to The Effects of Poverty on Children children
who were of low birth weight have been proven to be more likely to have physical ailments,
repeat grades in school and have lower math and reading achievements.
Whenever a child does not feel safe at home it is hard for them to concentrate in school
and is often very anxious. How does a child feel when he/she does not have a home and have to

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live in hotel rooms just keep them off of the streets? Yes there are shelter but most shelters
separate the families with males on one side and females on the other. In a time that it is essential
for a family to stick together any alternative is better than splitting up. Parents have even gone
so far as to create a makeshift home in their vehicles in the parking lots of stores. Even in cities
near by it is not uncommon to see children who are forced to live in the elements with little to no
protection and cannot even afford to buy clothing sturdy enough to provide them adequate with
protection from nature. While being homeless is among one of the worst possible outcomes of
poverty, there is another, much deadlier side of the world wide problem.
Hunger and starvation can also be another side effect of poverty in children. Hunger can
cause many different medical effects such as vitamin deficiencies and often causes children to
suffer from malnutrition. Most families living in poverty wonder where their next meal is
coming from and often times they do not know. Parents will give up meals just so their children
can eat enough to get through the night. While there are programs to help feed these children,
some children and their families might not even be able to excess these food services. This can
force children to steal just to keep themselves and their families alive. They do not do this for fun
or for sport, they do it to stay alive. Hunger can also damage their school work. It has been
proven that when a child is well fed and lives in a stable environment that they tend to do better
in schools their academic studies. Research shows that malnutrition in childhood can cause lower
scores on tests of cognitive development. (Brooks-Gun and Duncan) Children in more successful
house hold tend to be healthier and more nourished which gives them an advantage in school
because it improves their ability to think. Hunger is nothing but a restraint that is poverty has
placed on undeserving children and we can put an end to it.

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There are programs that have been set up all over the world to help children. Some, like
Project Sunlight, consist of a community of people who dedicate their time trying to make sure
that as many families as possible can live in a happy home. It shows the public how to help their
community by showing them the many ways that they can donate meals and by sharing then and
now stories of the program. Project Sunlight says that there is no better time to start creating a
better future for our children. A future where no child goes hungry and every family has the
means to live a happy and healthy life style. They realize that this goal is not possible to obtain
without the help of everyone in the community. (Unilever Project Sunlight) Another foundation
that helps families in poverty would be the Save the Children foundation. This foundation works
in over one-hundred and twenty countries including the United States to battle childhood hunger.
The foundations website shows the many different ways to help improve a childs life. These
ways do not always mean donating food. Sometimes all it takes to make a child living in poverty
feel special is donate a gift or to simply talk to them or listen to them. This foundations moto is
Together, were changing our world one child at a time. (Sponsor a Child)
Yes there are many foundations that can help children but are these foundations with only
a few volunteers and some sponsors enough? I do not believe so. I believe that in order for these
children to truly succeed in life they need mentors. It is also my opinion that every town have a
monthly food and clothing drive to help provide the local needy with goods that could change or
improve their lives. If every community would address the growing poverty problem we might
just be able to eradicate poverty altogether.
Poverty and what it results in can often effect childrens physical health, behavior, and
ability to achieve goals in a negative ways that will affect them throughout their lives. Children
who have lived through poverty will often times struggle with feelings of self-worth, security,

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and will often try to overcompensate for the things that they do not have. Children in poverty
matter because they are unambiguously not to blame for their situation, so why should they
have to lift the heavy weight of poverty by themselves? (Jensen) As citizens of the United States
it is important to keep in mind that there are ways to help and that poverty happens everywhere
and that it is our duty as Americans to help give our children a fighting chance to break away
from poverty.