Poverty

Another major impact on children in this age group is poverty. Despite the House of Commons’ 1989 unanimous resolution to eradicate child poverty by the year 2000, recent statistics show that one in five children in Canada still lives in poverty. The literature is clear that poverty seriously impacts the development of children although studies generally do not distinguish impacts by gender:
• Child poverty rates for Aboriginal, immigrant and children in visible minority groups are more than double the average for all children; the child poverty rate among children with disabilities is 27%.
(Campaign 2000, 2004 Report Card)
• “Children who live in poverty encounter more hurdles to healthy development and are, consequently, at an elevated risk for a wide range of negative health outcomes…Certain groups, most notably young and single parents, those with disabilities and those belonging to ethnic minorities, face even higher rates of
poverty and even greater difficulty earning enough money to stay out of poverty.” (CICH, 2000)
• “Low-income families are more likely than high-income families to experience chronic stress, parental depression and poor family functioning. People living in poverty are more isolated and report smaller social networks and less social support.” (The Opportunity of Adolescence, 2000)
• “Poverty plays a serious and negative role. Children who are born into and raised in poverty face serious obstacles in their earliest development that shape their access to education, jobs, a stable family, and a fair start to life. Other factors such as coming from certain racial or cultural minorities or having health or
development difficulties make it much harder…” (National Council of Welfare, 1999)
• “Living in deep poverty means living in a family facing a constant struggle to meet its basic needs for food, shelter, and clothing. This usually translates into living in a home that needs major repairs and puts children at risk for accidents. It often means having poor nutrition.” (Doherty, 1997)