Child Development
Economic hardship is at the heart of many problems experienced by families and it presents substantial challenges to growing kids. Children who are not equipped with adequate resources – food, dependable shelter, medical care - have more heath problems and greater incidences of disease than their more stable counterparts. These children have brains that don’t develop properly, thus their abilities to learn are negatively affected. Economic instability is more common in families in which parents have little or no education. Poverty, along with its byproduct of poor academic performance, cements a destructive multi-generational cycle of failure that has far-reaching consequences.
Children who are exposed to chronic traumatic situations, like long standing sexual or physical abuse and domestic violence, are easily overwhelmed. Their underdeveloped coping skills are insufficient in pulling them through crises. As such, these experiences take a heavy toll on their emotional health and development. The choices these kids make during adolescence can further place them at social and personal disadvantage.
