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We often feel impelled to do something to help, or contribute to a cause or campaign aimed at the response to a specific need or crisis, while it is important for us to become aware of a global problem or crisis. Poverty is defined as two meanings;Absolute poverty; when a persons income is so low that they cannot afford the basic essentials for living. Relative poverty where there income is well below the national average of living usually around El 5,000 pounds a year(geese sociology ). Child poverty has become a significant issue in the I-J.
Its definition itself has become quite controversial. This essay will use the definition set by the government. Labor has defined child poverty as any child living in a household with below 60% of average income after housing. (www. Society. Guardian. Co. K) It has grown substantially in the sass and sass. The recent increase in child poverty is particularly a British phenomenon. According to figures, the level of child poverty in the I-J is very high . Child poverty affects 3. 5 million children in the I-J.
Inner city areas of London, Manchester, Leister, and Glasgow are among the worst hit areas in the United Kingdom. Many people fail to recognize that here in the I-J, that the main causes of child poverty are by issues surrounding the household. The highest affected Those in high unemployment and on low incomes Lone parent’s with two or ore children in the household The essay will try to explain the causes such as unemployment, family structure, marital status, ethnicity, housing which lead to high rate of child poverty in the I-J.
There are factors related with child poverty. The causes can vary according to their factors. Those in high unemployment and on low incomes ,Lone parent’s with two or more children in the household,The high use of drug and alcohol dependency needing of failure as a parent, The high rate living and social needs of the parent’s,The government capping benefits at an all time low,fuel institution,borrowing money at high interest rates so parent’s can Just get by. However, the causes of child poverty can be direct as well as indirect.
Lack of resource is a direct cause of child poverty and lack of prenatal employment, suitable jobs or qualifications, and sometimes discriminations and racism, can be regarded as an indirect cause of child poverty. (May,Page &Brandon, 2000, 113) On the other hand, low paid Jobs, high living cost, family structure,housing,ethnicity Unemployment plays the key role of child poverty. Those parent’s in a work less household have different reasons for not working. The working market does not have the work to match these people and this is not providing enough Jobs to go around or not being close to homes.
These households has options to take Jobs away from home,( ) these are relying on government benefits to meet their basic living cost.. According to a report published by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), many entitled timeliest do not claim been TTS; perhaps they do not want to out to pride or the government claim they have enough money to live on. (www. Ifs. Org. UK) The ,children of this group are prey to poverty. Research argued that, children in thunderclouds nits’ are more likely than others to be poor. May, Page & Brandon, 2000, 113) As said by Miller (1993) the people in poverty tend to stay in poverty, the rise of poverty are the result of related factors they are: a high level of unemployment, the increase in low paid work and the growth of child birth with related factors of drug and alcohol abuse from failure to the children as parent’s. (Bolton, 2002, 79) In Miller’s point of view, men in unskilled Job and low-paid Jobs are most vulnerable to unemployment and women of part-time working-class. For people in low paid Jobs ND unskilled Jobs, it becomes very difficult to maintain their families.
Without a decent earning, coping with high living cost especially in inner city areas. A study done by Townsend(1979) found that children in unskilled manual working-class households had a 77 per cent chance of being poor and this rose to 93 per cent when there were three or more children in the family. (May, Page &Brandon, 2000, 108) over a a lone parent on benefits with three or more children To tackle child poverty, the government has undertook a mission which halved it by 2010 and to abolish it by 2020.
The government’s is focused on getting parent’s into work as various studies shows that most children in poverty come from no-income families. (www. Society. Guardian. Co. UK) However this has created a stigma among the society we live in according to (hate the poor )Being a society of continual welfare scroungers on benefits such as disability and incapacity benefit with drug and alcohol dependency can be seen as a stereotype couple. With double digit kids living in council housing in inner city areas is the most important factor to the don’t care attitude of the parent than caring for the child.
In the United Kingdom, family structures and sizes are changing gradually. There are different types of family like nuclear families, lone parent families, cohabiting families, foster families and so on. Family changes have caused a dramatic effect on British society. In recent years the marriage rate has decreased. Moreover, divorce rate is high in this country. Teenage pregnancy is also a frequent occurrence. These changes have a significant effect on child poverty.
The recent review of the literature, on children of divorced parent’s, done by Rodgers and Prior in 1998, has argued that they are more likely to be in poverty and to be poorer when they are adults. (May, Page & Brandon, 2000, 38) Furthermore, research done by Dolman and Bradshaw (1999) argued that the marital status of parent’s is an important factor associated with child poverty. While married couples have experienced less child poverty rate, lone parent families has a higher rate of child poverty.
The research also shows that poverty has increased fastest among children in two groups: those with no full-time working parent and those living with a lone parent. (May, Page ; Brandon, 2000, 1 1 1) Sizes of the family are also a significant one in respect of the high rate. As a general trend, families with more than two children are more likely to suffer from poverty. Research shows that there is a relationship between ethnicity and child poverty. According to a new report published by the Child Poverty Action Group (CPA), people from certain groups in Britain are significantly more likely to be living in poverty.
Around a third to all children are living in poverty but The poverty and social economic state has a profound effect on the children before they are born. The consequences of the parenting behavior has also a mass effect on the child health status. The mothers health before the child is born has a big effect on the child. If the mother is a drug addict or alcoholic they can cause less weight gain on a child, causing the child to have health problems from day 1 of being born.
The life expectancy of the child in this situation will be in a high risk of cot death. These children in poverty are high risk from all health problems, suffering from disability, mental and physical health. They are admitted to hospital several times before the age of 3, with symptoms of asthma Vitamins deficiency due to lack of vitamins in the food they eat, diabetes in he high sugar intake instead of a healthy in take, poor children especially boys show early signs of behavioral, mental and emotional problems leading too high suicide rate.
Over 50 children in the I-J have attempted suicide in the I-J between the ages of 10 and 15, ( Poor Kids BBC 29 Feb. 2012) the children growing up have a less likely a safe place to play or interact such as a park. With the rising costs in childcare, it is making lone parent’s harder to go back to work. Income seems to play a high factor in strengthening a child’s welfare, social status and educational needs. Finding Jobs for the unemployed and work shy teenagers who think the benefit system is too generous would gain better self respect and self esteem if they found work.
Child poverty is a mass strain on the tax payer, this economic recession is not Just making the poor suffer, the children are suffering. Those in genuine poverty cannot put shoes on their child’s feet or warm coats for winter. Is it a choice for heating or eating? 0 Other factors such as low level of female activities in financial sectors, concentration in low paid sectors, and lowest level of qualifications are very crucial robbers which contribute to high level of child poverty in the I-J. Moreover, family size is also playing an important role in this respect.
Poor housing is also a cause to child poverty. A briefing paper published Jointly by End Child Poverty and Shelter (ESP.) argued that the poor housing is an important cause of child poverty. Homelessness, overcrowding or poor conditions of houses can have a severe effect on children over one million homes in the UK were certified unfit to live in (poor kids 2012 BBC). Eventually it leads to child poverty. Moreover, it argued that the Government will not meet its target to end child poverty unless the plight of hundreds of thousands of children living in bad housing is tackled.
In the briefing, Garage Brown, Development Director at End Child Poverty, said that 3. 9 million children are experiencing the misery of poverty. So the Government is serious about ending child poverty, they must tackle housing health and give children the chance they deserve to grow up in a decent home. Therefore, poor housing effects children’s condition in society and it creates the situation of child poverty to some extent. Http://www. Esp.. Org. UK/aspects. Asp) Child poverty has become a major problem in Britain. The government and various social institutions are very concerned about this problem.
It is also creating awareness in public as children are the future of the society. Various causes have been put forward by different institutions such as parent’s, lone parent’s on benefits and some on tax credits have aces to a wide range of services created by the government to eradicate the child poverty problem in the united kingdom. They nave access to housing and council tax Bennett TTS to help Witt .NET cost with all of the rent and council tax getting paid Free milk and free school meals Grants for new school uniforms from their local council (direct. Gob. K)Food vouchers are available from most councils as from April 2013 which are redeemable for good such as nappies and milk for children under 4 (The Guardian, March 26/2013 Patrick Butler) Job centers around the I-J are giving parent’s whom have children and are suffering from child poverty, vouchers for food banks run by the Trusses Trust Charity. This entitles them to 3 to 4 days worth of food for free(BBC News). The DIP offer young expectant mothers under 21 and for children under 4 healthy start vouchers, which exchanges of healthy fruit, vegetables, vitamins and milk (Ian Duncan smith dip).
With all these additions that are on offer to parent’s who live in a poverty stricken Britain, bringing up children on the poverty line, why are they living in poverty and destitution? Making their child suffer on having low education attainment, and going hungry, when offering of free food on a table, clothing and education and housing, why does it have to happen? When it does not have to happen. A child is in poverty because of the parent’s low education attainment and making a child suffer, which is a form of abuse and stupidity.
Educating these parent’s to budget and putting the child first before purchasing cigarettes and alcohol would improve poverty statistics dramatically.. To cope with this social problem. In conclusion, it can be argued that though there are lots of reasons behind high rate of child poverty in Britain, if unemployment, family structure, , poor housing and health issues related with these causes,. The government are helping parent’s with all these handouts then child poverty will be eradicated by 2020 so why should we care about child poverty in the UK .