Poverty and Child Development

Poverty is defined in many ways. The dictionary definition simply does not suffice to show the human cost of poverty. Poverty is much more than the limited capital resources that this definition suggests. Poverty is defined by the federal government as 16,660 for a family of four in 1998 ("Child Poverty in the United States" 2000). These figures are tremendously flawed; a single individual residing in the United States would not fare well by the standards of most individuals at this income level. Individuals in Laos, Cuba, Ecuador, or many other nations however, would live as kings on this income. Poverty is, therefore a subjective concept far more complicated than a yearly income. The individual most harshly affected by poverty are those who are the most powerless to do anything about it--children. Research indicates that extreme poverty in the first five years of life alters a child's chances in life compared to lesser degrees of poverty in later life. This is the result of several key factors. The first problem associated with poverty is poor nutrition. It has been proven that poor nutrition leads to lower intelligence, poor physical development, and diminished immunity to disease. "Children deprived of proper nutrition during the brain's most formative years score much lower on tests of vocabulary, reading comprehension, arithmetic, and general knowledge. The more severe the poverty a child faces, the lower his or her nutritional level is likely to be (Brown and Pollitt 38-43)." Government assistance to poor families such as WIC help; however, the guidelines for eligibility fall woefully short of making sure that every child has adequate nutrition. As stated previously, the federal guidelines for poverty are ludicrous when applied to real world economics. To further complicate matters, guidelines used by agencies such as the United States Department of Health and Human Services serve to painfully remind the poor that they are a nuisance to be eliminated. A