Cynthia Crosson Tower Chapter Summaries

These effects additionally bleed into the subsequent generation. Arleen and Vanetta’s children were not given the opportunity to settle in a single neighborhood, matriculate at a single school, and build long-lasting relationships with peers and mentors. This cycle of poverty speaks to the greater effects that a trend can enact on a

Lizabeth knew her family could not afford to get her new things, but wasn’t completely aware of her family's financial problems, “we children of course, we’re only vaguely aware of the extent of our poverty” (Collier par.4). Squeaky’s family could buy things that she absolutely needed and used frequently. Squeaky knew her family was poor, and that her family couldn’t afford to buy her new things that weren’t Necessities,“A poor black girl who really can’t afford to buy shoes and a new dress you only wear once a lifetime” (Bambara lines 25-26). Growing up poor impacts children’s health, social and emotional development and behavior

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I viewed Frontline a documentary series, which episode was entitled Poor Kids. The frontline personnel spent time with three children Kailey, Johnny, and Britany along with their families as they all struggle financially. We perceive a glimpse of what it is like to live below the poverty line in America through a child’s eyes. While observing the documentary, I became consciously aware that children who are considered poor or living below the poverty line were more mindful of the responsibilities of life. The children were worrisome of the lack of employment for their parents, bills, and in Britney’s case; how they would accommodate their way of living to support a new addition to the family.

In the article 7 kids 1 apartment What Poverty Means to This Teen by Courtney stein a young boy named Jairo Gomez lives with his mother and 6 siblings in tiny apartment, he explains how he had to grow up fast for his age to help his mother. He quotes how his having to work 13 hour shifts and making food deliveries on his bike just to help his mother. Jairo has also explained how he failed all of his classes because he was missing school to be at home and take care of his younger siblings. Facing these hardships, it was an eye opener to him and instead of continuing to suffer in school he deiced to have a talk with his mom and explain to her that he wants to be able to graduate. Jairo pushed himself more and more to overcome his tragedy.

According to Hodgkinson et al, there are “disparities in poverty rates depending on age, race or ethnicity, family structure, and geographic location. Although the largest number of poor and low income children are white, minority children are disproportionately affected, particularly African American, American Indian, and Hispanic children. In 2013, Hispanic and African American children were ~3 times more likely than white and Asian children to be poor. Children raised by single parents and children raised in the South or West are also more likely to be poor or low income than children residing in the Northeast” (Hodgkinson et al, 2016). Children and youth are a vulnerable population because they have no control over their situation or environment;

A child's social class doesn't predetermine their life, and children from poor backgrounds often succeed while children from wealthy backgrounds sometimes fail. The access to community activities such as sports teams or after-school programs can decrease the risks of living in an impoverished area. To stabilize a child's environment you need to teach them by teaching a parent parenting skills, removing an abusive caregiver or ensuring adequate nutrition -- can lower the risks associated with low socioeconomic

Jeanette said,“One night when I was almost ten, I was awakened by someone running his hands over my private parts,” (Walls 103). The actions of her parents cause Jeannette’s trust in her parents to deteriorate. According to The Future of Children, poverty has many physical effects, but mental effects play a larger role in the lifestyle of a person. Jeanne Brooks-Gunn states, “Emotional outcomes are often grouped along two dimensions: externalizing behaviors including aggression, fighting, and acting out, and internalizing behaviors such as anxiety, social withdrawal, and depression” (Brooks-Gunn 62). Jeanette and her siblings suffer from the “internalized behaviors” as stated by The Future of Children as a result of the family’s continuous poverty throughout the children’s lives.

Social inequality affects children at a young age and has a lasting impact; there was a particular statistic that lower income parents correlate with high rates of socio-emotional difficulties in children, due to low interactions with children. Inequality begins to impost society early on and life and progress throughout an individuals

For my research paper, I want to explore how people born into poverty are resilient and hardworking individuals, opposed to lazy and hopeless individuals. This issue was seen in Jeannette Walls’ memoir The Glass Castle throughout her childhood until she went to New York. During her childhood, Jeanette and her siblings were bullied. They were bullied because their clothes looked ratty, they looked greasy, and often times eat out of the garbage because their parents didn’t have enough money to buy food.

The cycle of poverty is something discussed in political, medical, education and social circles. The children that are stuck in the cycle often becomes adults that remain in the living conditions and lifestyle of poverty. A few ways that they become trapped is through their poor health and educational opportunities. My thesis statement is, The cycle of poverty continues to plague American children and families, but with some changes focused on health care and education they may be able to escape from the cycle.

This is very interesting to me because a lot of people equate poverty with neglect and this is not the case, just because you may be poor doesn’t mean that you are a neglectful parent, there are children that live below the poverty level and their parents love them and nurture them and care for them better than a child that lives in a million dollar home. So just because you have money it doesn’t necessarily mean that you are caring for your child, you may not clean or cook or know how to nurture your own child and that is a form of neglect. Now because a family is living in poverty the stress of that may cause neglect, and that is the economic theory of child neglect, so there are some families that live in poverty and are perfectly happy still loving and nurturing their children, and there are some families that can’t handle the poverty that in turn causes stress and in some cases may result in neglect, that is an example of that fine line. There are many

These statistics are overwhelming due to the fact that child poverty affects all areas of their lives. Children exposed to poverty at such a young age are at a disadvantage in several areas; these children are at risk of low academic achievement, resulting in lasting negative effects. Our economy is not able to thrive if child poverty continues. Children living in poverty are also at risk of dropping out of school, being unemployed, and entering the juvenile justice system. Our government is responsible for ensuring that child poverty ceases to be an issue in the United States.

Who Is Poor, Social, Economic, and Housing Statistics Division, US Census Bureau, Volume 16, Number 3S46-3S51 Boivin, M., Booij, L, Cote, S., Lambert, J., Mazza, J., Pingault, J-B., Tremblay, R., & Zunzunegui, M. (2017). Poverty and behavior problems during early childhood: The mediating role of maternal depression symptoms and parenting, Vol 41 (6) pages 670-680 Kaplan, S., Madden, V., Mijanovich, T., & Purcaro, E. (2013). The Perception of Stress and its Impact on Health in Poor Communities 38: pages 142-149. DOI1 Burke, L. (2013). Head Start’s sad and costly secret---what Washington doesn’t want you to know, http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/01/14/head-start-sad-and-costlu-secret-what-washington-doesnt-want-to-know.print.html