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Poverty makes people sick and live shorter lives. Things like education, jobs, and safe homes also affect health, so helping people study and have better lives is important to stay healthy.

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Some issues that affect child poverty are socioeconomic vulnerability, conflicts, and disasters, along with financial and geographical barriers, which affect child development.

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Those living in poverty face challenges that go beyond a lack of resources. They also experience mental and physical problems and can even lead to death.

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Rising inflation and an uncertain economy are deeply affecting the lives of millions of Americans, particularly those living in low-income communities. It may seem impossible for a family of four to survive on just over $27,000 per year or a single person on just over $15,000, but that's what millions of people do everyday in the United States. Approximately 37.9 million Americans, or just under 12%, now live in poverty, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Additional data from the Bureau show that children are more likely to experience poverty than people over the age of 18. Approximately one in six kids, 16% of all children, live in families with incomes below the official poverty line.

Those who are poor face challenges beyond a lack of resources. They also experience mental and physical issues at a much higher rate than those living above the poverty line. Read on for a summary of the myriad effects of poverty, homelessness, and hunger on children and youth. And for more information on APA's work on issues surrounding socioeconomic status, please see the Office of Socioeconomic Status.

Who is most affected?

Poverty rates are disproportionately higher among most non-White populations. Compared to 8.2% of White Americans living in poverty, 26.8% of American Indian and Alaska Natives, 19.5% of Blacks, 17% of Hispanics and 8.1% of Asians are currently living in poverty.

Similarly, Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous children are overrepresented among children living below the poverty line. More specifically, 35.5% of Black people living in poverty in the U.S. are below the age of 18. In addition, 40.7% of Hispanic people living below the poverty line in the U.S. are younger than age 18, and 29.1% of American Indian and Native American children lived in poverty in 2018. In contrast, approximately 21% of White people living in poverty in the U.S. are less than 18 years old.

Furthermore, families with a female head of household are more than twice as likely to live in poverty compared to families with a male head of household. Twenty-three percent of female-headed households live in poverty compared to 11.4% of male-headed households, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

What are the effects of poverty on children and teens?

The impact of poverty on young children is significant and long lasting. Poverty is associated with substandard housing, hunger, homelessness, inadequate childcare, unsafe neighborhoods, and under-resourced schools. In addition, low-income children are at greater risk than higher-income children for a range of cognitive, emotional, and health-related problems, including detrimental effects on executive functioning, below average academic achievement, poor social emotional functioning, developmental delays, behavioral problems, asthma, inadequate nutrition, low birth weight, and higher rates of pneumonia.

Psychological research also shows that living in poverty is associated with differences in structural and functional brain development in children and adolescents in areas related to cognitive processes that are critical for learning, communication, and academic achievement, including social emotional processing, memory, language, and executive functioning.

Children and families living in poverty often attend under-resourced, overcrowded schools that lack educational opportunities, books, supplies, and appropriate technology due to local funding policies. In addition, families living below the poverty line often live in school districts without adequate equal learning experiences for both gifted and special needs students with learning differences and where high school dropout rates are high.

What are the effects of hunger on children and teens?

One in eight U.S. households with children, approximately 12.5%, could not buy enough food for their families in 2021, considerably higher than the rate for households without children (9.4%). Black (19.8%) and Latinx (16.25%) households are disproportionately impacted by food insecurity, with food insecurity rates in 2021 triple and double the rate of White households (7%), respectively.

Research has found that hunger and undernutrition can have a host of negative effects on child development. For example, maternal undernutrition during pregnancy increases the risk of negative birth outcomes, including premature birth, low birth weight, smaller head size, and lower brain weight. In addition, children experiencing hunger are at least twice as likely to report being in fair or poor health and at least 1.4 times more likely to have asthma, compared to food-secure children.

The first three years of a child's life are a period of rapid brain development. Too little energy, protein and nutrients during this sensitive period can lead to lasting deficits in cognitive, social and emotional development. School-age children who experience severe hunger are at increased risk for poor mental health and lower academic performance, and often lag behind their peers in social and emotional skills.

What are the effects of homelessness on children and teens?

Approximately 1.2 million public school students experienced homelessness during the 2019-2020 school year, according to the National Center for Homeless Education (PDF, 1.4MB). The report also found that students of color experienced homelessness at higher proportions than expected based on the overall number of students. Hispanic and Latino students accounted for 28% of the overall student body but 38% of students experiencing homelessness, while Black students accounted for 15% of the overall student body but 27% of students experiencing homelessness. While White students accounted for 46% of all students enrolled in public schools, they represented 26% of students experiencing homelessness.

Homelessness can have a tremendous impact on children, from their education, physical and mental health, sense of safety, and overall development. Children experiencing homelessness frequently need to worry about where they will live, their pets, their belongings, and other family members. In addition, homeless children are less likely to have adequate access to medical and dental care, and may be affected by a variety of health challenges due to inadequate nutrition and access to food, education interruptions, trauma, and disruption in family dynamics.

In terms of academic achievement, students experiencing homelessness are more than twice as likely to be chronically absent than non-homeless students, with greater rates among Black and Native American or Alaska Native students. They are also more likely to change schools multiple times and to be suspended-especially students of color.

Further, research shows that students reporting homelessness have higher rates of victimization (PDF, 10MB), including increased odds of being sexually and physically victimized, and bullied. Student homelessness correlates with other problems, even when controlling for other risks. They experienced significantly greater odds of suicidality, substance abuse, alcohol abuse, risky sexual behavior, and poor grades in school.

What can you do to help children and families experiencing poverty, hunger, and homelessness?

There are many ways that you can help fight poverty in America. You can:

Volunteer your time with charities and organizations that provide assistance to low-income and homeless children and families.

Donate money, food, and clothing to homeless shelters and other charities in your community.

Donate school supplies and books to underresourced schools in your area.

Make your voice heard! Support public policy initiatives that seek to:

Improve access to physical, mental, and behavioral health care for low-income Americans by eliminating barriers such as limitations in health care coverage.

Create a "safety net" for children and families that provides real protection against the harmful effects of economic insecurity.

Increase the minimum wage, affordable housing and job skills training for low-income and homeless Americans.

Intervene in early childhood to support the health and educational development of low-income children.

Provide support for low-income and food insecure children such as Head Start, the National School Lunch Program, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).

Increase resources for public education and access to higher education.

Support research on poverty and its relationship to health, education, and well-being.

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Effects of poverty, hunger and homelessness on children and youth

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Learn about the effects of youth poverty on academic achievement, psychosocial outcomes and physical health, as well as the prevalence of child hunger in the U.S.

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Conflict and instability are among the most common causes of poverty in the world today.

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How education break the cycle of Poverty?

Education has a big impact of life of child, in poverty or not.

Because, in school or university, children learn maths, languages, laws, etc. And if a children have a good education, go to school and university, they may find a good job a they will have a good salary.

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When people are poor, they can’t always eat well, live in safe homes, or have clean water and air. Many kids also leave school to work, so they don’t learn enough to have better jobs later. This makes families stay poor for many generations.

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who live in very remote areas of the city, such as in the hills, where resources such as water and new medical advances do not reach.

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Poverty restricts children’s access to nutritious food, clean water, safe housing, and healthcare services. Because of this, children living in poverty are more likely to experience malnutrition, preventable diseases, and higher rates of illness and death. Lack of proper medical care and vaccinations further worsens their health outcomes.

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In recent years, the world has made remarkable strides advancing development. Yet hundreds of millions of people still live in extreme poverty. Children are disproportionately affected. Despite comprising one third of the global population, they represent half of those struggling to survive on less than $2.15 a day. An estimated 333 million children live in extreme poverty.

Children who grow up impoverished often lack the food, sanitation, shelter, health care and education they need to survive and thrive. Across the world, about 1 billion children are "multidimensionally" poor, meaning they lack necessities as basic as nutritious food or clean water.

The consequences are grave. Worldwide, the poorest children are twice as likely to die in childhood than their wealthier peers. For those growing up through humanitarian emergencies, the risks of deprivation and exclusion surge. Compounding crises - from the impacts of climate-related disasters, conflicts and COVID-19 - have stalled progress for the most vulnerable children. Even in the world's richest countries, one in seven children still live in poverty.

No matter where they are, children who grow up impoverished suffer from poor living standards, develop fewer skills for the workforce, and earn lower wages as adults. But only a limited number of Governments have set the elimination of child poverty as a national priority.

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Children are more likely to live in poverty than adults. They're also more vulnerable to its effects.

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Global poverty estimates up to 2023 were updated today on the Poverty and Inequality Platform (PIP), including nowcasted estimates up to 2025.

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What is the Impact of Health to kids in Poverty?

Health make a big impact in children's life, because

if a children have cancer (for example), it will affect

the WHOLE life of the kid. Health is one of the

basic needs that every people need. And poverty

have a negative impact because without money, they can't pay a hospital.

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Going to school helps people get good jobs, earn more money, and live healthier lives. Education also makes countries grow, be more fair, and have peace. Also poverty affects to health by school, many kids stay poor, get sick, and don’t have chances for a better future.

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Many children in poverty face economic barriers, discrimination, and service shortages, limiting their access to healthcare and education.

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Children in poverty encounter major health issues such as low birth weight, chronic diseases, and increased injuries, which hinder their ability to succeed.

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​Growing up poor makes everything harder. For many children, being raised poor limits their ability to reach their greatest potential.

Consequences of Poverty on Child Health

Children from poor families or neighborhoods are more likely than other children to have serious health problems.

Low birth weight

Poor nutrition and smoking during pregnancy are common causes of low birth weight.

These babies have higher rates of rehospitalization, growth problems, child sickness, learning problems, and developmental delays.

Babies born with a low birth weight are at increased risk of dying in the first year of life.

Chronic diseases such as asthma

Obesity and high blood pressure

Poor neighborhoods may not have safe playgrounds, parks, or organized sports for children. All of these things are barriers to a healthy body weight.

Increased accidental injuries

Living in a home that is not safe and in a dangerous neighborhood puts children at greater risk of violence.

Lack of school readiness

Poor children are less likely to participate in organized activities and often do not have enough supplies or books in the home.

Low parental education and single parent families are complex factors that may interfere with school readiness.

Toxic stress

Being poor is stressful. It causes damage to the brain and to a child's overall physical and mental health into adulthood.

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)

Violence in the home, having a parent in jail, and emotional neglect increase the amount of toxic stress children face.

Children in poverty are more likely to have these experiences than those living above the poverty line.

How Pediatricians are Helping

Today, 1 in 5 (about 15.5 million) children live in poverty in the U.S.-23% are under age five. The widest reach we have for kids under the age of five is through pediatricians.

Screening for economic risk factors

A pediatrician may ask a child, "Where does it hurt?" And now a pediatrician may ask the child's parent, "Do you have difficulty making ends meet at the end of the month?" It is impossible for a pediatrician to know who needs help without asking. See Struggling to Make Ends Meet? Your Pediatrician Can Help.

Pediatricians can tell parents about the benefits they are eligible for, as well as home-visiting and early education programs that their community offers.

Pediatricians, both individually and through state chapters of the AAP, are also working for policies that support poor families.

Additional Information:

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poverty~ child poverty~ low-income~ poor family~ low birth weight~ toxic stress~ adverse childhood experiences~ aces~ single parent~ poverty-level~ poverty screening guidelines~ accidental injury~ lead exposure~ crime~ violence~ guns~ malnutrition~ stress

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​Growing up poor makes everything harder. For many children, being raised poor limits their ability to reach their greatest potential. Children from poor families or neighborhoods are more likely than other children to have serious health problems. Poor nutrition and smoking during pregnancy are common causes of low birth weight.

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A child's health significantly affects learning by impacting attention, memory, and focus due to factors like poor nutrition, lack of sleep, and illness.

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What Is The Impact Of Health & Education In Poverty? Good health and quality education have a good impact on Poverty. The two impacts combined make a good life (because the differents things that you learn are usefull in your life), and the health in other words, help you to life, because the different medicines, vaccines, etc.

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In what ways does a child’s health affect their learning?

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Question 5: What role do health and education play in helping children out of poverty?

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In conclusion, I think that poverty, health, and education are conected because poverty cause bad health, limited and bad education, and those are conected to poverty.

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Many children have lack access to health care and education due to poverty, lack of infrastructure, chronic diseases, and social barriers such as discrimination and norms that limit schooling and promote child labor, especially among girls.

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In conclusion, we can know that when children are in poverty, they are more likely to suffer from diseases, malnutrition, etc. When their parents are poor, children can also become criminals or drug addicts.

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In conclusion, I think that poverty requires the right to study, because without studying you don't learn anything and it would be bad for your health. And they could have brain problems because they can't study. That's why we should be grateful that we can study, because there are people who can't, like the poor.

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In conclusion, it is importan that children have a good health and quality education, beacuse they are basic needs and things that all we need to be good persons and life a good life.

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Caleb Quevedo 3: How does poverty lead to problems in children’s health?

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How poverty influences health and education (Connection)

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 Rafaella :  What causes some children not to have access to health care or schools? 

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 Rafaella :  What causes some children not to have access to health care or schools? 

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Question Student: André Centeno 1: How are health, education, and poverty connected?

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Question Student: André Centeno 1: How are health, education, and poverty connected?