Poverty is a financial state that is characterized by lack of money. This leads to a deprivation of essential material, emotional and social resources. Poverty has different effects on both children and adults, however it's effects on children are more pronounced than on adults. Children are quite delicate and are still at a crucial formative stage of their lives where experiences they have shape the person they become.
Poverty affects children in so many ways; socially, academically, mentally, and in many other spheres of life, however we would be zeroing in on the psychological effects of poverty in childhood.
How does childhood poverty affect how these individuals see life in the long run? How is their relationship with money and people affected? What happens to their self esteem and self image? What about mental health issues that they are at risk of? There sure is more to what the lack of money does to a child as they grow into adults than it appears on the surface.
Children born into poverty will most likely not have access to quality education. Because of this, they do not acquire much needed knowledge for all round development or growth. In essence there is a wide gap in knowledge and certain cognitive skills needed to function optimally in the society as they grow.
These children will inevitably need to have relations with other privileged peers at different times in their lives and this gap in knowledge if not made up for would lead to low self esteem as they begin to realize that they don't necessarily have what it takes to match up to the level of expertise or knowledge displayed by their peers. Eventually, they find it difficult relating to people around them.
Another effect of childhood poverty that isn't discussed most times is how this occurrence disrupts an individual's relationship with money. Because they have experienced and now see life from a standpoint of lack, they tend to begin to build unhealthy money habits. They lack financial literacy which wouldn't allow them make smart or wise decisions pertaining to money; how it is made and how it is spent. You might find some of these individuals getting themselves involved in gambling, betting games, ponzi schemes, consumerism, overspending and debt, guilt for spending money, et cetera.
These individuals are also put at risk of having mental health issues such as anxiety, depression due to the pressure around them to make ends meet and make a living for themselves and their family. Sometimes they have to take on the role of fending for themselves at a very young age, forcing them to grow up faster than they should and exposing them to harsh conditions that are not suitable for them.
However, It is important to note that not all children raised in poverty experience certain effects that would ordinarily have applied to them. This could be as a result of early intervention, such as therapy or incentives and certain opportunities that take them out of this state of poverty. These interventions and incentives however have to take a holistic approach , that is, they should be able to address these effects as they apply to different spheres of an individual's life. Such as socially, financially, mentally/ psychologically and materially among others.
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