Child Poverty When thinking of poverty we always think of third world countries such as countries like Haiti and Kenya, but many do not know that we actually have many children in Toronto who are suffering in poverty. Studies have shown that 29 percent of children, almost 149,000, live in low-income families. But for the last 2 years the numbers increased. In fact, among the major cities in Canada, Toronto is tied with St. John, N.B. having the highest poverty rate.

There are many risk factors that a child might be living in poverty. Statistics show that children are in risk of poverty if no one in their family works, but a large number of children are living in families where at least one person has a job. Other reasons why they might live in poverty are if they are living in large families. Large families can often struggle by paying the cost of many things and to easily go into debt. Even if a child’s parent gets paid higher than minimum wage they may not be able to pay their living expenses because of so many family members. Other things parents need to pay for might include school uniform and equipment for their children. Also, having a disabled family member whether being an adult or child can lead to poverty. If a child is disabled, the parents will need to accompany the child as much as possible which can lead to them losing their job. If an adult is disabled, it is very hard for them to look for a job so it will be very hard to support the family.

There are many problems, the children in poverty are facing. One important problem is their behaviour. Poor children often have a sense of helplessness, low self-esteem and may be exhausted which can lead to them committing suicide. Also, children in poverty start out in life at a disadvantage. Poor children do not have the same kind of experiences as other social classes do. The experiences they miss out on are those that could help in the development of skills and academic achievement. Some of these experiences include being able to use the computer, attending many programs, and visiting many places like zoos and museums.

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development says increasing child-care spaces eases child poverty by enabling mothers to get a job. But in 2006, the Harper government killed a national child-care program that would have provided 625,000 subsidized daycare spaces and replaced it with a taxable $100 per month child tax credit that actually benefits the well-off more than the poor. However, some action has been taken. The Ontario Child Benefit for low-income families launched a $250/year in 2007 which had increased each year to $1,310. It has helped to raise thousands of children and their families out of poverty.

Child poverty is an interesting issue to which extent we share responsibility for those around us, and for the societies we share with them. We need to realize that when we allow more children to grow up in poverty, our societies will change for many years to come. They can’t naturally put themselves in a condition that we would prefer them to be in, but we have to put in energy to make them what we would like them to be.