Understand How to Support Positive Outcomes for Children and Young People

All children should be offered the same opportunities. Local policy will be based on national policy but with information relevant to the local area (e.g. contact details, list of professional bodies etc.)

Poverty - A child may be living in a household with a very low income and their family may not be able to afford to provide for their children as they ad hoped. They may struggle to buy enough food, especially health food, to eat, buy clothes to wear or even to provide heating and electric. This can affect their physical and mental health due to poor hygiene and diet. Some children may suffer with low self-esteem and low self-respect because of the stigma attached to poverty, this can affect them in later life also.

As mentioned by Ruane and Cerulo in Second Thoughts, harsh realities of poverty affect children’s lives in profound ways. Children lack any power in improving their circumstances and depend on adults to gain access to basic necessities. Access to proper healthcare, education, and basic nutrition continues to be an obstacle for children. Poverty impedes children’s aptitude to learn and contributes to poor overall health and mental health. Perhaps most important, poverty becomes a cyclical nature that is difficult to overcome. Children who experience poverty when they are young tend to experience persistent poverty over the course of their entire lives. According to the Child Welfare League of America, the national poverty rate for children

If a child is in poor health then this will have an impact on their development. For example, a child with uncontrolled asthma or cystic fibrosis may not be able to run around and be as active as their peers. Therefore, this would mean that his physical development might not be the same. Not being able to play outside would almost certainly affect the social development, as children make many friendships on the playground and at after school clubs.

1.1. Describe the social, economic and cultural factors that will impact on the lives of children

The consequences of poverty on the members of society include that it handicaps many and leads to troubles and challenges that are passed from one generation to the other. Some of the challenges that the members of community experience include that it limits access to education, and many children are pushed to work so that they can contribute towards family income. Other effects of poverty on the members of society includes that it compromises the hygiene levels that people need to observe, and it also increases the risks of contracting different diseases, especially those related to lack of hygiene. Poverty also affects the children that have access to education, noting that it reduces their motivation to perform and continue with education

The longer term affects could mean that they are less likely to progress through education to University or become teenage parents, which will then have a knock on effect to their ability

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

Health is another issue that has been examined as a potential effect of living in poverty. A large amount of literature links low income to child health problems with studies showing that children in poverty are at a greater risk of infant, child and adolescent deaths (Children’s Defense Fund, 1994) along with malnutrition (Miller & Korenman, 1994) and numerous other health issues. These health issues can also be linked to the low quality living environment, as children in poverty are more likely to be exposed to toxins such as lead along with poorer air and water quality. These have been found to lead to cognitive deficits in children (Holgate, Samet, Koren, & Maynard, 1999).

Poverty can lead to serious effects. Children who grow up in poverty are likely to have frequent health problems than the children who grow in better financial circumstances. For example, infants who are born into poverty have a low birth weight, and they grow up with mental or physical disabilities. Not only are they sick, but they are most likely to die before their first birthday. Children who are raised in poverty might miss school often because of their illnesses, and they have a much higher accident rate than the other children. Nearly a billion of the world’s population can’t read nor write. Poor families experience stress much more than a normal family does. They are more likely to be exposed to negative events such as illness, job loss, death of a family member, and depression. Homelessness is another effect of poverty. Homeless children are less likely to receive proper nutrition, protection and they experience more health problems. Around 1.4 million children die each year from lack of access to safe and clean water and proper nutrition. Homeless women experience a high rate of low birth weight infants as well as miscarriages. Families who do not have homes receive much more stress than other families. They also have disruption in school, work, friendships, and family relationships. There are other effects of poverty such as drug abuse and addiction, child and woman abuse, debts pressure, and increase in crimes.

Poverty plays a big role in determining how well a person will live. Poverty affects almost half the world, in which over three billion of the world population “live on less than $2.50 a day” (Shah, 2013). Even if the $2.50 was exchanged to the currency rate of a given country, the amount will not be sufficient to live on. Poverty is so detrimental that “22,000 children under five still die each day” (UNICEF, 2010). Living in poverty reduces the quality of life to almost nothing, which no human being should ever have to experience. Compared to adults, children are most affected by poverty because they are more fragile. Poverty causes many deaths which will decrease the world population. Children are the future in this world. If more children begin to die from poverty, then there will be no future for the human race.

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.

Low income can affect the child 's health, living and education. If children living in 'poverty ' it could mean they are dealing with harsh experiences. In the UK alone there is 3.9 million children living in poverty (Child Poverty

Child poverty is an issue which affects our society and will continue to as more individuals struggle from low income to be able to provide their families with the basic materials needed to survive. Throughout analysing the article you are able to identify that main purpose behind the text is to discuss the issue around child poverty and the detrimental effects it can have a child’s lifestyle, education and health. With this, the article then goes on to discuss with a child who is suffering from poverty their view on their life experiences and how it affects them physically, mentally, emotionally and socially.

Outline the characteristics and circumstances of children living in poverty in the UK and discuss the impact of poverty on their wellbeing.