Child Poverty
Essay on Child Poverty:
“Examine the characteristics and circumstances of children living in poverty, and assess the main responses of social policy towards improving their lives”
Poverty is the greatest threat to the well being of children, it can affect every area of a child's development social, educational and personal. There are currently 3.8 million children living in poverty in the UK according to (Barnardos 2011). The UK has one of the worst rates of child poverty in the industrialised world. For this essay I am going to examine the characteristics of children who live in poverty and discuss how living in poverty circumstances can affect a child’s life in health and education. I will also discuss what actions are being taken by social policy to resolve child poverty. Within my essay I will explore what is influencing child poverty, the affects of child poverty on the children and their families, the government’s responses and finally what has to be done to minimise child poverty.
Since the 1990’s the UK government have identified people in poverty as being those living in households whose disposable income fell below a certain percentage of average household incomes. There are various social, economic and demographic factors that affect the likelihood of children experiencing poverty. Families with children make up 53 per cent of those in income poverty. Some children such as those in the lone parent households, from workless families and many from ethic minority families, are more at a risk of income poverty than others. According to Gabrielle Preston (2005), a child has only a 3% risk of poverty if living in a two parent family where both parents work. However, where neither parent works, this risk of being in poverty rises sharply to 74%. According to the HBAI (2001) children are more likely to live in households in receipt of means tested benefits, such as income support. Disabled children or those children with a disable parent were much more
“Examine the characteristics and circumstances of children living in poverty, and assess the main responses of social policy towards improving their lives”
Poverty is the greatest threat to the well being of children, it can affect every area of a child's development social, educational and personal. There are currently 3.8 million children living in poverty in the UK according to (Barnardos 2011). The UK has one of the worst rates of child poverty in the industrialised world. For this essay I am going to examine the characteristics of children who live in poverty and discuss how living in poverty circumstances can affect a child’s life in health and education. I will also discuss what actions are being taken by social policy to resolve child poverty. Within my essay I will explore what is influencing child poverty, the affects of child poverty on the children and their families, the government’s responses and finally what has to be done to minimise child poverty.
Since the 1990’s the UK government have identified people in poverty as being those living in households whose disposable income fell below a certain percentage of average household incomes. There are various social, economic and demographic factors that affect the likelihood of children experiencing poverty. Families with children make up 53 per cent of those in income poverty. Some children such as those in the lone parent households, from workless families and many from ethic minority families, are more at a risk of income poverty than others. According to Gabrielle Preston (2005), a child has only a 3% risk of poverty if living in a two parent family where both parents work. However, where neither parent works, this risk of being in poverty rises sharply to 74%. According to the HBAI (2001) children are more likely to live in households in receipt of means tested benefits, such as income support. Disabled children or those children with a disable parent were much more