carolla's picture

carolla

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Poverty & parenting

Interesting article today in Toronto Star - I was surprised and saddened to read that one in seven children lives in poverty - a number increasing over the past decades.  http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2013/10/26/good_parenting_key_to_breaking_cycle_of_poverty.html

 

The article goes on to explore the influence of parenting on children's abilities to break out of the complex  poverty quagmire that entraps so many.  The challenges faced by parents trying hard to do the best they can.  The ways that other adults can enhance kids development.  A new term for me - "relational poverty."

 

Perhaps not news to many ... but it gave me pause to consider what I might do.  Made me think anew about the influence we adults might have by participating in school breakfast clubs, Big Brothers/Big Sisters organizations, youth programming in our communities.  Not necessarily under the auspices of our churches - but within secular organizations already serving children & youth.  

 

Your thoughts? 

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Wolfie's picture

Wolfie

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Not being a parent, I can't really speak to this... however I can bump it so that it shows easier in the search engine.

 

*Peace*    ~ heartlaughheart ~

 

Wolfie

carolla's picture

carolla

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Thanks Wolfie.  I found that phrase "relational poverty" very interesting - I do think I've seen it in some kids whom I've known through my kids school & social circles - the need for stable adult with time to be present in the their life. 

Wolfie's picture

Wolfie

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Every child should have a parent or relative or guardian active in their lives.

 

I know it isn't easy for a single working parent to do.  To juggle the needs of the child and the demands and stress placed upon them by work or looking for work and having enough money to meet the needs of the child both in food and everything else that is required, to give that child a good start and chance at breaking free from a cycle of poverty.  That isn't easy to do even for an adult.

 

*Peace* ~ heartlaughheart ~ *Peace*

 

Wolfie

carolla's picture

carolla

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True Wolfie - I agree about the need for such an adult - I think sometimes it might not be a relative or parent or guardian - maybe a good family friend, someone from a support organization, a consistent school volunteer, a neighbour ...   

Wolfie's picture

Wolfie

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Agreed Carolla - It could be anyone.  As long as there is Someone!

 

It breaks my heart when I know there is a single parent who is struggling and there is nothing I can do to help them, other than to point them to some social organization that might be able to help them or at least help them get help.

 

*Peace* ~ heartlaughheart ~ *Peace*

 

Wolfie

chemgal's picture

chemgal

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Relational poverty would be a hard one to determine who's suffering.  I know of children not living in poverty who suffered relational poverty to an extent.

 

I'm not surprised by the stats on childhood poverty.  I will point out that it is for Canada.  I imagine worldwide it would be much higher.  Unfortunately, those suffer in Canada the worst are probably the hardest to reach out to.  Still, there's the ability to help some out locally :)

MikePaterson's picture

MikePaterson

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It seems there are a lot of countries with LESS child poverty than Canada, Chemgal.

 

This is from the Washington Post (April):

 

 

This is from the Conference Board of canada:

Child Poverty Rate, Late 2000s (chart)

 

 

It's reportedly been growing steadily in severity in Canada since the 1980s.

 

But that's not Stats Canada's view; Statistics Canada uses a different measure of poverty from the OECD measure. Statistics Canada’s low income cut-off (LICO) is a threshold that defines the status of a family’s income.

 

Families below the threshold spend a larger share of their income on necessities (that is, food, clothing, and shelter) than the average family does, leaving less money to spend on transportation, health, personal care, education, household operation, recreation, or insurance.

 

Statistics Canada reports that the proportion of Canadian children in poverty fell from a peak of 18.4 per cent in 1996 to 8.2 per cent in 2010. According to the LICO numbers, an estimated 550,000 Canadians under the age of 18 live in low-income households.

 

 

Here's UNICEF Canada's President and CEO David Morley:

 

"Over the last 15 years child poverty has not changed much in Canada, even in strong economic times.

"The UNICEF Report Card 10 on Child Poverty looked at two measures of child poverty, one based on income and one (for European countries) based on a Child Deprivation Index, which indicated 14 basic items essential to a child’s well-being. The report noted that, for Canada, the child poverty rate exceeded that of the national poverty rate, and was twice that of the senior rate.

"Households with children are headed by younger-than-average people with lower earnings than average, so children are always more likely to be poorer," he explained. "But Canada’s tax-transfer program more effectively lowers poverty rates among the elderly than among the young. This success story shows us how effective government can be when it sets out priorities."

chemgal's picture

chemgal

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Countries, sure.  If you look worldwide though, I would be surprised if Canada's child poverty rate is higher.

carolla's picture

carolla

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Thanks for the interesting graphs Mike.   I know I felt quite surprised to see the stat of one in seven in Canada - that's such a huge number of kids.  

 

Taken down to more imaginable scale - in a classroom of 28 kids - 4 would be conceivably living in poverty - to me that's a lot.   I do know stats don't work just like that - in some areas, the full class, the full school might be poverty stricken.  In other areas - affluence prevails.

 

But my own neighbourhood is mixed income - so imagining it in terms of kids in a typical class puts more of a face on it for me.  Thinking of poverty stats only in large numbers is depersonalizing - allows us more distance from thoughtful reflection IMO, and removes us from imagining how our own actions might impact or influence the situation. 

Tabitha's picture

Tabitha

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as a single mom I knew I couldn't do it all myself.

My kids were part of "Big Brothers-Big Sisters" as well as Scouts Canada and Guides.And church youth group, and cross country skiing (including trips with other families for spring break) and camping weekends and a family oriented canoe club.

Except for Scouts/Guides we were often the only family led by one adult. and so a thank you to those who reached out and included us in so very many ways!

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