Poor Kids Documentary Summary

- The children being placed, Desire Winn; Destiny Winn; Deshawna Winn, are all under the age of 2 years of age.

The documentary “Poor Kids”, it shows the story of the lives of three families who struggle to make ends meet every day. These families lack the resources such as money to buy food and other every day necessities, pay for the rent, and the parents not having a job or not having an unstable employment. I felt heavy hearted after watching this documentary because I can imagine myself in their situation. I feel blessed that I did not have to go through what these families are going through. It is hard to imagine how it feels like to have no money or little money to buy food, clothes and other things, pay the utilities, not having a decent place to live, moving from one motel to another, and not having a stable to job to support the family.

This is relevant to economics in a few ways. First is the fact that in the beginning of the video it discussed the 2008 recession, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted over 700 points. This caused many

In the documentary “Poor Kids”, Frontline explores childhood poverty from the eyes of the children that are enduring the epidemic. Through interviews and observations, the children from these poor families tell their stories uncandid, honest and in their own words. The outcome is remarkably discerning, by taking viewers into their livelihoods and day to day experiences, and displaying their unfortunate lack of resources and hope. Every single day, huge numbers of American families get pulled out of the middle class and dumped into poverty. The amount of reliable, secure jobs continues to shrink, and families don’t have any way to pay their bills, causing them to lose electricity, water, and even their homes.

The first thing learned is that poverty is a way of life for these children. Although they know they are poor, it doesn't bother them because everyone there is poor. It's okay to be without when there isn't any competition. An example of this is seen when the children talk of their study areas at home. Only one of them actually have a desk and paper, and the others think nothing of it. Instead they tell her to shut up about it. The children are proud of themselves and of their life.

In the documentary “Poor Kids” you get to truly see and feel how it is to be a child that suffers from food insecurity, poverty and the rest that comes with it. The fact that this problem exists in a developed country that you would assume it could provide for all their citizens. Well, the reality is we have many families suffering because of lack food and on top of that, we have children suffering from lack and food and more. As a society, we have grown to just be concerned about ourselves and we don’t focus on issues that affect others. We fail to see the struggles of others because it doesn’t directly impact us. We are focused on attaining wealth at all cost we would rather waste food than provide help for the ones in need. Ultimately, we are creating policies that, make sure no one gives food to the ones that needed the most. It’s a sad reality that we must face in order to continue to strive as a nation. Therefore, we need to acknowledge others and provide them with the respect that they deserve. We also have many corporations and elites that have control, power, and wealth. The stratified system in the U.S is making it that much harder for lower-income families to come out of poverty. Not only are they suffering from lack of food, lack income, and resources, but this also is affecting their pride and self-worth.

Prior to watching the documentary Second Chance Kids, I did not realize the amount of juveniles sentenced to life in prison without parole. The statistics throughout the documentary were shocking. For example, across the country, there are more than two thousand people convicted of murder as juveniles and sentenced to mandatory life in prison without the possibility of parole (Dornstein, 2017).

The purpose of this assignment is to research and explain the aspects of a particular social issue. I will begin by providing a brief history of the subject. I will elaborate on the causes and factors of those who are influenced. Additionally, I will explain the demographics and geographical locations in which the problem most commonly affects. In this assignment, I will further discuss a few of the operations that are in place to accommodate those in need of assistance. Finally, I will express a consideration that offers an alternative solution to ending or preventing the matter.

As earlier mentioned Collins argues that poverty, lacks of housing and healthcare have a lot to do

The sociological problem that’s depicted in the video and that is discussed is the issue on domestic violence. Domestic violence is where one partner in an intimate relationship seeks power and control over their partner by being violently abusive and aggressive. These negative aspects can be either shown verbally or physically and can sometimes even lead to death. Also, the video surrounds itself on the idea of domestic violence with whom it can affect. Anyone can be associated with domestic violence at any point in their life; including the male/female, children or even the animal within the household.

In today’s society, the stigma around child poverty is related to homelessness. Poverty is the lack of support, goods, and money. As a matter of fact, many kids who partake in the 21% statistic from NCCP do live with parents who go to work and have a paying job. With that being said, the jobs that some of their parents have are unstable and their income is very low making it difficult for these children’s parents to make ends meet. This issue is transparent and many do not realize just how much we are surrounded by those who suffer from child poverty.

More recent causes not necessarily related to money already in hand have been categorized as follows: inadequate education or skills, poor motivation to work and other negative attitudes or skills, inability to form stable families, proliferation of low-wage, low-skilled jobs, poor schools and inadequate investment in training and skill formation, lack of access to higher education, residential segregation, discrimination in labor, credit, and housing markets. Of these listed, two deal with discrimination (7 and 8), two with jobs (2 and 4) and four with education (1, 2, 5, and 6), and one with families (3).

Children are faced with many consequences due to growing up in poverty. Most children who live in poverty go to poor unsuitable schools, live in unexceptable housing, and grow up around more violence and crime than any other parent would wish for their child. As soon as the child is born into poverty, they begin to feel the effects of it. They tend to have low birth weight and contain a higher risk of dying during infancy. We watched a video in class that showed that poverty could take a toll on the child’s learning capabilities, and health status. There were stories of children with hyperactivity problems, chronic ear infections which caused hearing loss, and even children who were not receiving the proper amount of nutrients to be able to grow and function correctly. The first years of a child’s life are the most crucial because most of the development of the brain occurs then.

When analyzing children growing up in poverty a lot of factors come into play such as their physical, psychological and emotional development. To grow up in poverty can have long term effect on a child. What should be emphasized in analyzing the effects of poverty on children is how it has caused many children around the world to suffer from physical disorders, malnutrition, and even diminishes their capacities to function in society. Poverty has played a major role in the functioning of families and the level of social and emotional competency that children are able to reach. Children in poverty stricken families are exposed to greater and emotional risks and stress level factors. They are even capable of understanding and dealing with

Socio-economic factors are widely acknowledged as important determinants of poverty. If an individual experiences adverse living conditions in childhood, majority of them will have inadequate income and result in low socio-economic status as adults (Carroll et al, 2011). Children born in poor households have difficulty in accessing the basic needs (e.g. food, clothing, and good living environment) and this can affect their learning ability at school, unable to focus. In other words, they have a higher chance of dropping out of school or lower education attainment, unable to provide appropriate qualifications when they move onto adulthood, seeking for job opportunities. These children are finding day-to-day life tough, they are living in cold, damp houses, do not have warm or rain-proof clothing, their shoes are worn, and many days they go hungry (Children's Commissioner, 2012). Often this has taken place over a long period of time, impacting on their development, behaviour and physical health furthermore limiting their potential as they grow into adults.