Children and Poverty

*This post is for a new class. Not about the internship. Must post on here for unknown reasons. Regularly scheduled programming will resume shortly.*

Caveat: My laptop's hard drive is broken, within which all of my notes are stored, and my computer has been shipped to the Apple Macdaddy big boss store for further probing. Will be at least 5-15 days before Compy comes home, so this post is being written on a library computer with a screen that has been zoomed in so far I have to continuously scroll from left to right to see the whole line of script, and I am technologically incompetent, so that's super fun. May not be the best writing I've ever done.

Prompt, for those who are reading this anyway: "Draw on your web based research and the readings for this session to blog on how children experience poverty in ways that are unique to children, and in ways which are similar to adults."

How do we define childhood? Most Americans would include as part of their description the time before we have real responsibilities. However, as Kathryn Copsey notes, "Thinking of childhood as a time for play is a Western notion" (Miles and Wright, 2003, p.3). Besford and Stephenson echo this in saying that "Childhood has become a Holy Grail - a time not to be touched and tampered with" (Miles and Wright, 2003, p.147). They point out that Christian ministries working with children use promotional materials that "depict 'normal' children as those laughing and being schooled" (p.148). However, childhood is relative to context; culture, time period, environment, and social status (among a myriad of other factors) play a role. Many societies view youth as simply part of the continuum of one's part in contributing to the family and society. As soon as they are able, children become part of the work force, either on the family farm or in an outside venue that contributes to family income. With this in mind, it is hard to generalize on the experience of children globally, though there are similarities especially in reference to experiencing poverty. Examining these commonalities with shared adult experience of poverty gives a much broader understanding of how poverty affects society.

Children are born into a situation where they rely on an adult caregiver. In this state, they are completely vulnerable. During developmental years, almost everything has a lasting effect on children, from emotional support to brand of milk. Adults are better able to find their own food and shelter, earn wages, and problem solve based on past experience. Often, children in poverty at completely at the mercy of adults and have no way to provide for themselves; they have no control over distribution of family income or the way they are treated by adults. However, at some point children become “social actors — individuals with rights and responsibilities of their own; playing an active role in the lives of their families, communities and societies; and having interests, views and priorities which may differ from those of the adults with whom they interact" (Children's Christian Fund, 2003, p.1). In response to poverty, when an adult caregiver cannot provide protection and sustenance, children can become more self-empowered. For example, street children learn to take care of themselves and develop communities on their own. They have many of the same strengths as adults, some to a greater degree, like resilience; scholars even argue that this adversity provides a deep source of character strength (CCF, 2003, p.3). Among other things, children display higher levels of openness, imagination, and resourcefulness, and their lives are much less complicated than those of adults (Miles and Wright, 2003, p.17). They view the world in a more simplistic way, and value things differently than adults. Children care more about being secure in their relationships, while adults care more about succeeding in life. Thus, in some ways, children are better equipped to deal with poverty than adults, while in others, they experience it more negatively.

In both cases, poverty can be very damaging to children and adults alike. Insecurity of physical safety, stable family dynamics, future lifestyle, and treatment from others are shared concerns of those in poverty (CCF, 2003, p.7). This is obviously skimming the top of the iceberg; in order to better understand how to solve poverty, we need to take a better look at those it affects, including listening to their perspective (i.e. children). This actually ties in well with my thesis focus of empowering the marginalized, giving them a voice and inviting them to become part of the solution. Only when we involve those we are trying to help can we make a lasting impact, and children are one of the most marginalized groups of people on earth. It is encouraging that organizations like the UN (and their Convention on the Rights of the Child), UNICEF, Amnesty International, Save the Children Alliance, and Young Lives are working toward ending poverty in impactful and lasting ways. I look forward to seeing them lead a growing movement in making the world a safe place for children.