Poverty and Childhood - Essay Example

Recently when BBC held a nation wide study in the UK, an alarming fact came out. The study illustrated that almost four million British children livein poverty. It also pointed out that an enormous difference in the quality of life being led by British children was functional to their places of residence. Quoting Save the Children, the report revealed that the problems of impoverished and poor children were far more serious in isolated pockets of England and Scotland than in the urban areas.1 Thus, that the statement "Children's lives are to a considerable extent shaped by social policy" has a direct relation to poverty is self-explanatory. Though over the past decade a lot of effort has been devoted in order to help needy children, nothing tangibly great has happened. The cases where the effects of these efforts have borne fruit have been low and far stretched. This is primarily because of the fact that these problems are deep rooted and complex. On many instances, it is because the problems have been neglected for so long that it would take many years for the effects of these policies to bear fruit. In other places, it is because the policies have not been precisely relevant or applicable. The need for social policy: The term social policy can be defined as a set of parameters that would enable the changing, maintenance or creation of living conditions that are important to human welfare. Thus aimed to improve human welfare, the term definitely encompasses the criterions of childhood and all the factors that pose a hindrance to it. Thus, the fact that social policy is required to tackle poverty in children emanates from the fact that, children are not only the "father of man"2, but they also withstand the worst of the failures and mistakes juxtaposed upon them by adults. Children have neither voice nor power to control their own lives and their manner of marginalisation can only mean an impending doom awaiting humankind. Thus, the need for effective policies for children is important. As a means to achieve this, the World Health Organisation started a study to develop a set of indicators on children's environmental health with the idea of providing a basis for judging environmental risks to children's health, in order to help prioritise policy at national and global level. 3Acting as a basis for monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of national and international initiatives to reduce environmental health risks for children, it sought to providing a template for developing other indicators, according to need, to address issues of specific local or national concern. Though the program could not justify its potential, in the sense that it fell flat while dealing with the problem of child poverty in the African states, what it did was inspire a lot of attention towards the cause of global poverty and the need to limit children poverty. Following this, a UN declaration in 2000 pledged that by 2015, it would halve the proportion of people whose income was less than one dollar a day and achieve a similar reduction in the number of people suffering from hunger4. The declaration also pledged to cut the death rate among the under-fives by two thirds and ensure that all children could complete primary school. The report that was prepared for UNICEF by the Townsend Centre for International Poverty Research at the University of Bristol was the first time in the history of humankind that child poverty in the developing world had been scientifically measured. The lives of more than 1.2 million children from 46 of the world's poorest countries were analysed for the study. The report classified children who lacked one basic human need, such as food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter and education as living in severe deprivation, while those without two basic needs were stated to be in absolute poverty. The report found that more than half of all children living in the developing world were living in severe deprivation, while 674 million are in absolute poverty. A third of all children in the survey lived in a dwelling with more than five people to a room, or with only a mud floor. A similar proportion had no kind of toilet facility and one in five had no access to safe drinking water. More than one in ten children aged seven to eighteen had never been to school, and one in seven was severely malnourished. Countries in sub-Saharan Africa had the highest rates of deprivation, according to the report. In some countries, 90 per cent of children in rural areas were assessed as living in absolute poverty. The relation between poverty and childhood is paramount; more so because of the fact that childhood is often defined by external and internal factors that a child grows up in. Where as factors such as genetics, parentage and culture are intrinsic, lifestyle and culture are other external factors that play major parts in a child's growing up. Each of these, however, acts out its role on a wider stage - within a social and physical context. Each is also to some extent shaped by that context. Therefore, the environment within which children find themselves exerts a major influence on their well being and destiny. It acts as both an enabler and a hazard. It provides the resources needed to allow children to grow and develop in safety and security, and it is the source (or at least the pathway) for many of the factors that threaten their survival and health. In many ways, in many areas of the world (but especially in developing countries), the best way to intervene is thus through improving children's environmental health - by enhancing the social and physical world in which they play out their lives. Action, however, requires information. Thus, the concept of social policy becomes important. 5 The effect of poverty on childhood: Childhood is the stage where powerful capabilities, complex emotions, and essential social skills develop. In addition, during the earliest years of life, the capacity to increase the odds of favourable developmental outcomes through planned interventions. True, the capacity to use this knowledge constructively has been constrained by a number of dramatic transformations in the social and economic circumstances under which families with young children are living.6 Emanating from poverty, these factors include marked changes in the nature, schedule, and amount of work engaged in by parents of young children and greater difficulty balancing workplace and family responsibilities for parents at all income levels. Other issues are continuing high levels of economic hardship among families, increased rates of parent employment, and a strong economy, increasing cultural diversity and the persistence of significant racial and ethnic disparities in health and developmental outcomes. Then there is also the growing numbers of young children spending considerable time in childcare settings of highly variable quality, starting in infancy; and greater awareness of the negative effects of stress on young children, particularly because of serious family problems and adverse community conditions that are detrimental to child well-being. While only one or two of these changes may affect any given child, their cumulative effect, warrant dedicated attention and thoughtful response. This convergence of advancing knowledge and changing circumstances calls for a fundamental re-examination of the world's responses to the needs of young children and their families, many of which were formulated several decades ago and revised only incrementally since then. It demands that scientists, policy makers, business and community leaders, practitioners, and parents work together to identify and sustain policies and practices that are effective, generate new strategies to replace those that are not achieving their objectives, and consider new approaches to address new goals as needed. It is the strong conviction of this committee that the nation has not capitalised sufficiently on the knowledge that has been gained from nearly half a century of considerable public investment in research on children from birth to age. In many respects, we have barely begun to use our growing research capabilities to help children and families negotiate the changing demands and possibilities of life in the 21st century. However, it is to be kept in mind that in the process of providing information to policy-makers and others whose decisions determine the state of the environment and its potential effects on health of children, the information needs to be clear, concise and powerful. If it is to stand up against the counter-force of complacency, cynicism or scientific doubt, it also needs to be well founded and testable. One way of providing this information is in the form of indicators. The use of indicators, in all sorts of areas of application, has expanded rapidly in recent years - though, sadly, the concepts and principles underlying them have not always been well thought-out. However, it is also true that children in developing countries today are dying in staggering numbers from preventable diseases while others are stunted or permanently damaged by malnutrition. They never get a proper education or a chance for a decent life, but they are the inheritors of tomorrow's world. 7What we do today for our children will determine our culture, our history and our future. What is happening to millions of children around the world conjures up frightening images of societies that will evolve in developing countries in the 21st century; societies that will be on the treadmill of continuing poverty. Every year, 11 million children die from diseases such as measles, polio and diarrhoea, while 130 million children - most of them girls - do not have the chance to attend primary school. Inadequate diets are the reason for one-quarter of child deaths, and growth failure affects one-third of children. Malnutrition is still prevalent in many developing countries because of protein and energy deficiencies and the lack of key vitamins and minerals. Malnutrition, as we have known for years, has an adverse effect on children's capacity to think. Nearly one billion people in the developing world lack access to clean water and 1.7 billion have no sanitation. This results in more than 3 million child deaths every year. Up to half a million children become blind each year because of vitamin A deficiency. Millions become mentally retarded due to lack of iodine in their diets. More than half of young children in the poor countries are anaemic because they lack iron, a deficiency that saps their energy and impairs their mental development. Behind these statistics are stories of loss, pain and ruined lives. It is hard to accept the suffering and tragedy of the deprived children of the developing world. It is still harder to accept when we know how little it would take to turn their lives around. It is possible today to prevent vitamin and mineral deficiencies for less than $1 per person per year. Lives can be saved and children's futures improved with some of the simplest and most productive programs. Iodine deficiency can be solved by adding iodine to common salt at a cost of about 10 cents per person per year, and vitamin A can be provided in a variety of forms for about 20 cents. It costs $15 to immunise a child fully in low-income countries and $9 more to prevent and treat diarrhoeal diseases. These investments could prevent almost half of early childhood deaths in developing countries. A child's experience in the earliest stages of life determines success or failure later in life. The causes of failure are deep-rooted and complex, but we have the means and measures that can be of enormous help. Early child development programs offer important means for attacking the problems. They are not miracle cures, but they are relatively cheap. 8 Inadequate diets are the reason for one-quarter of child deaths, and growth failure affects one-third of children. Malnutrition is still prevalent in many developing countries because of protein and energy deficiencies and the lack of key vitamins and minerals. Malnutrition, as we have known for years, has an adverse effect on children's capacity to think. Nearly one billion people in the developing world lack access to clean water and 1.7 billion have no sanitation. This results in more than 3 million child deaths every year. Up to half a million children become blind each year because of vitamin A deficiency. Millions become mentally retarded due to lack of iodine in their diets. More than half of young children in the poor countries is anaemic because they lack iron, a deficiency that saps their energy and impairs their mental development. Remedial Measures: One question that needs to be understood in relation to children and poverty is: how can society use knowledge about early childhood development to maximise the nation's human capital and ensure the ongoing vitality of its democratic institutions As the knowledge generated by interdisciplinary developmental science has evolved and been integrated with lessons from program evaluation and professional experience, a number of core concepts, which are elaborated in the report, have come to frame understanding of the nature of early human development. Human development is shaped by a dynamic and continuous interaction between biology and experience. Culture influences every aspect of human development and is reflected in childbearing beliefs and practices designed to promote healthy adaptation. The growth of self-regulation is a cornerstone of early childhood development that cuts across all domains of behaviour. The time has come to stop blaming parents, communities, business, and government, and to shape a shared agenda to ensure both a rewarding childhood and a promising future for all children. The charge to this committee was to blend the knowledge and insights of a broad range of disciplines to generate an integrated science of early childhood development. The charge to society is to blend the scepticism of a scientist, the passion of an advocate, the pragmatism of a policy maker, the creativity of a practitioner, and the devotion of a parent-and to use existing knowledge to ensure both a decent quality of life for all of our children and a productive future for the world. It is imperative to understand that poverty and childhood are problems that are intertwined in such a manner that would require a lot of special effort. Mere implementation of policies would not work as long as criterions such as the creation of quasi markets and management attitudes are not implemented. Moreover, there should be ample scope for rehabilitation of children not only mentally but also physically. The program of tackling the problem of poverty in childhood should be complimented by sufficient scopes for vocational training courses. Works Cited 1. Bartleby.com, Wordsworth, W. "My Heart Leaps up when I Behold" , Francis T. Palgrave, ed. (1824-1897). The Golden Treasury. 1875. 2. Save The Children.org, 3. The Times Center Article, 4. The National Academies Press, 5. Unicef.Org, 6. University of Chicago: Article in an online journal: 1. WHO, "Making a Difference: Indicators to Improve Children's Environmental Health", WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, 2003, Prepared on behalf of the World Health Organization by Professor David Briggs Department of Epidemiology and Public Health Imperial College London, Read More