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Childhood Poverty
An issue that has a lot of impact on children that is the root of many problems with children is Poverty. Poverty contributes to many other issues such as child neglect, child labor, lack of education, abuse, physical aspects, and other types of mental problems. In some severe cases children may be sold into slavery or servants. This is something that children can not really help with until they get to an older age. Many of the side effects of childhood poverty can be life altering or unchangeable to a degree.

Facts and Data
The poverty line for a family of 4 is around $22,314 for 2010. The rate of poverty for this time is 15.1%. The number of children living in poverty is 16.4 million, which is the highest number since 1993. Put into a percentage that is 22% of children as of 2010. A major contributor to this is the unemployment rate which is 8.3%. 24% of children live in a single mother type home situation. The poverty rate for this type of home is even higher at a 42.2% poverty rate. In 2010, more then 1.6 million children were homeless at some point in the year. Facts and numbers from APA (American Psychological Association) Site:

The Effects
The effects of childhood poverty can be detrimental to any child. Poverty puts children in danger of a number of things. Some of these may include lack of education, physical aspects, social aspects, and mental aspects.

Academics
One thing that poverty can contribute to is low academic achievement. This is largely the case with early childhood education. Things can be harder to learn for a child if they have a stressful home life or have to constantly worry about things such as hunger or living conditions on a daily basis. The dropout rate for children living under the poverty line is 4 1/2 times more then a child that lives in a higher income household. Part of the contributor to this is that a child that lives in poverty may feel that they need to do their part when they are old enough to. They may dropout of school to get a job to help carry the load of bills or other necessities. They feel that they must do their part to help take care of the family. In some cases the child may feel like they can do nothing more then what they already have so they do not try to better their situation. In some other cases they may feel like if they try to do something better they may be shunned because they do not embrace where they come from. This is a very large factor that leas back to poverty because low or no education contributes to the cycle of poverty.

Social
Living in poverty can be a negative contributor to a child's social life. Children who live in poverty may have a harder time making friends. This is more and more evident the older the child gets. They may feel that they do not fit in well with everyone else. They may feel that the life they live is not the same as others and no one would understand. They may also get bullied because of the little bit that they have. In some cases kids are ruthless when it comes to what you have or do not have. A child may get made fun of because of the way they dress. They may not have the name brand stuff. Children living in poverty may have mental and emotional problems.

Physical
Some problems that can occur to children living in poverty is a number of physical issues. The physical issues for a child in a poverty stricken household can start before they are even born. Without proper nutrition a mother may not be able to give children everything they need during the pregnancy. This can lead to possible birth defects or possible premature birth. From the time that the child is born they may not be able to get the proper nutrition that they need to be healthy and strong. Improper nutrition can lead to obesity when eating foods that may not be the best for nutritional values. On the other side of that lack of food and nutrition can lead to malnutrition. Both of these can lead to serious health problems.

Other physical aspects of poverty are abuse, neglect, and child labor. Children living in poverty may also be living in an abusive household. In some cases a parent(s) may take out their aggression on a child. The added stress of the living situation may make a parent(s) become abusive. They may place the blame for the living conditions on the child because they are easy to blame. The parent(s) may also neglect the child. This may be for a number of reasons. The parent(s) may always be at work leaving a child by themselves or with someone to watch them. They may also neglect them due to the lifestyle they live due to drugs, alcohol, or other contributors. This may make the child feel unwanted leading to other mental problems. The parent(s) may also use their kids to try to make money by making them work. In some very harsh cases they may sell them into slavery or prostitution.

Mental
Social, Physical, and other things can contribute to mental issues in the life of a child. Some things that a child may suffer from are anxiety, depression, low-self esteem, and many other things. The child may grow up in a high crime area and may not think anything against breaking the law due to growing up around it. They may also develop other mental disorders such as bipolar disorder or ADHD. Many of these mental disorders can go undetected because of the lack of healthcare for the child.

Do Your Part To Help
You can do your part to help children living in poverty. These are some websites that you can go to, to contribute.

www.feedthechildren.org/ ‎ www.savethechildren.org/‎

www.hungerreliefinternational.org/