Poverty’s Negative Effect on Child Development

photo credit: www.theinspiredtreehouse
Poverty's Negative Effect on Child Development
photo credit: www.theinspiredtreehouse

Poverty has detrimental affects on the health and development of all children. That is why organizations like Children International and SheKnowsMedia have teamed up to find long-term solutions for breaking the cycle of poverty among children.  Poverty can interfere with children’s health, education, empowerment and employment potential.

Did you know that living in poverty has been connected to many negative health outcomes in a child’s development?

Poverty has a profound and limiting effect on a child’s development, compromising their exposure to developmental experiences. Their ability to explore the world around them and engage in motor coordination activities prevents the children from emerging into full maturity.

Evidence suggests that many parents and caregivers of children living in poverty have limited education, which decreases their ability to provide a responsive stimulating environment for their children.  Kids may spend more time in front of a screen and less time playing and connecting with others.  Babies may have less access to important developmental experiences such as tummy time.

Because many children who live in poverty have limited access to outdoor playing spaces such as playgroundss, these children tend to lack appropriate social skills. Even being deprived of spacious settings can be detrimental to the development of motor skills, as these kids show signs of insecurity and a severe lack of confidence.

To learn about poverty’s negative effect on child development, read the original article here:
Effects of Poverty on Child Development

About SensoryEdge 174 Articles
Articles written by SensoryEdge are a combined effort of the SensoryEdge publishing staff. At SensoryEdge our focus is to educate, inform, and inspire each person caring for children to be and do their very best. It is not always easy and sometimes we don't take action (or we take the wrong action) because of a lack of understanding the real issues. We hope that the conversations that occur here will help in some small way better the lives of children, their families, and the professionals who work with them.