Absolute poverty is defined as a condition of severe deprivation of basic human needs of food, clear water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter and education and information ~ on the international poverty line is based on having between $ 1 and $2 dollars per day per person
Relative poverty is when individuals and families are lacking in resources to obtain the type of diet, or participate in activities, or live in conditions which are customary or widely used in their society
relative poverty is debatable definition that has been rejected by some academics
however Poverty can effect children's health and well-being and impacts on psychological levels, life experiences and feelings of feeling under valued or socially inferior ~ which in turn can effect schooling and future job prospects and the way children view themselves and their roel within society
children's views on poverty showed children did not regard them selves as poor or rich, they said they were average or used other terms ~ for them poverty was only a term used for tramps or homeless people or starving people of Africa
children often talked up or down about what they had depending on their background ~ private educated children tended to talk down their parents wealth while estate child about what they children often boasted or exaggerated ~ perceptions of poverty held by adults are not necessarily agreed by children
labels are attached to children can have a profound impact on how they see themselves and how others see them ~ they often label each other with names like 'Chav or Posh' but strive to see themselves as normal rather than poor in order to avoid any stigmas
Babies born into poor families are likely to be premature or of low birth weight ~ which in turn may have implications on their future development or health in later life
poverty can produce a legacy of low income ~ unemployment, social housing and a greater risk to drink and drug abuse ~poor children are more likely to suffer from ill-health, accidents, racism, violent neighbourhoods, environments pollution, or institutional or communal violence
there are many factors which contribute to children's poverty ~ and can have lasting effects such as health, education and current and future mental health
Social inequality
can be within countries ~ in UK there are vast differences between percentage of children living in relative poverty and those living within wealthier families
the UK is supposed to be one of worst places for child poverty, obesity unhappiness and ill-health of all the rich nations
Poverty happens because of political decisions & can have terrible effect on children ~ in Sweden child poverty is 5% and one of the lowest in the world ~ Wilkinson & Pickett think Britain could be made to look like Sweden if the income was more evenly distributed, but Sweden has even distribution of income because of the kind of society they are which is a cohesive society
between families social inequality can take place in distribution of wealth of siblings, older child, boys over girls, children can be deprived emotionally but materially rich or vice versa ~ parents may sacrifice for their children, cultural expectations about boys and girls, boys tend to be paid more and in countries such as Thailand girls are expected to hand over most or all of their money while boys are allowed to keep some for personal use
Children living in poverty is complex and cannot be understood in isolation from social inequalities and policy and global forces ~ the numbers of children living in poverty are high and most live in the majority worlds but there are also areas of deprivation in wealthy countries in minority world too