Children are most vulnerable to negative influences from the outer world and require protection and special care from adults. However, not every child receives equal and well-off upbringings due to a myriad of causes, one of which is poverty.

Poverty Effects On Children’s Health

Children living in low-income households are liable to poorer health. In early childhood, nutritious food is extremely essential for children’s development. Poverty is one of the leading causes of world hunger and malnutrition in children. According to United Nations World Food Program, 45% of youngsters under five years old die because of hunger.

Without proper food supplies, young children’s physical development can be negatively affected which leads to many disadvantages in the long term. They can be diagnosed with different forms of undernutrition namely:

• Stunting: low height for age
• Wasting: low weight for height
• Underweight: low weight for age
• Deficiency of necessary vitamin and minerals

Furthermore, children who live in poverty usually have a difficult background: their surroundings are usually run down and polluted. Some of them do not even have access to safe and clean water on a daily basis. Contaminated water sources can lead to waterborne diseases which can be fatal to impoverished children. Diarrhea, for example, has been causing 1.8 million deaths each year among children (World Health Organization)

To understand further about How Poverty Affects Health, you can read more by clicking here.

Poverty Effects On Children’s Well-being

Staying impoverished means living in a destitute condition in which families members are constantly devoid of money and living needs, creating struggles for parents – the breadwinner – and younger members – the dependent. Worries in making livelihoods and stress from food insecurity are common culprits of rising domestic violence and abuse.

If poverty persists, it will not only deteriorate youngsters’ physique but also reduce children’s motivation and gratification. Children coming from poor families can experience exclusion and bullying from their more wealthy peers. Having a positive mental state is critical to ensure a healthy lifestyle and cognitive development; therefore, young children deserve to live in a better-off environment where they are allowed to develop holistically.

Poverty Effects On Early Education

Poverty hinders youngsters’ chances to go to school, inhibiting children to enhance their skills and securing a better future. Education can be out of reach for several families due to their lack of stable incomes. Parents cannot afford daily food and goods, so expenses on their children’s education might not be under their concern. However, we want to emphasize education is the tool to fight poverty, as it provides people, especially younger children fundamental knowledge in life and increases the employability rate.

In addition, youngsters who come from low-income families are exploited by child labor abuse which prevents them from continuing their education. Those families usually force children to pursue manual labor jobs that can generate income in a shorter-term compared to the expense for education.

In poorer and underdeveloped nations, education opportunities are even more scarce. For example, students in mountainous regions of Vietnam such as in Sa Pa District often have to travel hours on foot to come to schools. These hurdles altogether restrain underprivileged students and households to opt for studying.

At Project Sprouts, we realize that we can not solve all the problems of Poverty in a situation like this. But we can seek to make a difference in the lives of needy children by giving them school supplies and encouraging them to continue their education; we can give them winter coats, boots, and blankets to help them stay warm during the cold winter months.

Project Sprouts would love to have you be a part of our community and help us help worthy children in North Vietnam. We cannot solve all the world’s problems, but we can do our part to help poor kids grow by giving school supplies, winter coats, boots, and other supplies.

You can find out more about Project Sprouts by clicking here or going to our give now page to donate by clicking here. As we are a grassroots organization, all funds go to help those in need.

Related Contents:

What is Generational Poverty?

Generational Poverty means staying impoverished for two or more generations. Poverty is not an incurable disease, yet it is passed down to one generation after another. This is usually called “the Cycle of Poverty,“ where everything begins once again after it is finished, persisting in a whole family’s tree for years.

You can read more by reading What Is Generational Poverty? by clicking here

How Can Education Help Fight Poverty?

The United Nations’ 4th Sustainable Development Goal – Quality Education has emphasized the importance of education in combating not only Poverty but also other societal issues.

Learning how education can support impoverished people will help you understand why the world needs education and what the mission of Project Sprouts is

You can read more by reading How Can Education Help Fight Poverty? by clicking here.