9 Poverty’s Influence on kids
A child's brain development can be threatened by a host of risk factors: some are posed by the child's environment, others are simply natural to any growing child. Historically, poverty is a condition in which there is a significant lack of economic resources. Poverty can be generational, relative, absolute, or situational. Many who have not studied poverty think of it as a problem of no money in the checkbook or bank. Unfortunately, it's not that simple. In fact, if that were the only problem, it would be good news. But the issue is much more complex. Poverty is actually a chronic mind/body condition in which synergistic adverse economic risk factors have multiple negative impacts. Unfortunately, poverty changes the brain for the worse. Poverty is about more than money; it cuts across all areas of one's life's, including emotional, psycho- logical, social, linguistic, financial, medical, and career. Alone, each of those issues is potentially devastating, but collectively, they're a disaster. The brains of those in poverty are very different from the brains of those who live in a healthy environment. The brain can change, and it can be changed dramatically. Nearly 19 percent of all children in the United States come from low-income families (U.S. Census Bureau, 2000). These children often have less emotional support, greater exposure to acute and chronic stress, a lack of cognitive support, and greater heath and toxic exposure. But the good news is that smart, directed, and extended interventions can and do work. This chapter explores the effects of poverty on children and strategies for enriching their brains and lives.