Homelessness and It's Effects on Children
Homelessness and its Effects on Children
Prepared for:
Mr. F
Prepared by:
Ashley Y
Early Childhood Education
December 3, 2011
Did you know that the average age of a homeless person is a 9 year old boy? There are more homeless children then there are elderly and adults. In fact as of 2009 more than 1.5 million children are living without homes in the United States and 1.16 million children today will not graduate. A part of that makes up nearly 42 percent of children who are under the age of six. During the transition of adolescence to young adults the numbers of homeless women decrease while it continues to increase for males. Research and personal experience has taught that children without homes will continually go through a lack of uninterrupted schooling, reassuring routines, adequate healthcare, sustaining relationships, safety, comfort and privacy. These are all factors that endure everlasting scars (Coalition for the Homeless, 2010).
Homelessness impacts a child’s development even before birth. A majority of homeless parents are single women, many homeless as a child growing up. These women face many obstacles in pregnancy such as lack of health care, health problems and chemical abuse. Children born in to homelessness are more likely to have a low birth weight and are at a greater risk of death. Living without a home exposes infants to environmental factors which could endanger their health. A lack of an infant’s immunizations will often occur. As toddlers, children begin to show developmental delays which are believed to be influenced later as behavioral and emotional problems. As a preschooler children are often separated from their parents, which show to cause later long term effects. The emotional problems begin to set in increasing in development delays. These preschoolers receive very few services to fix the problem than other children their age. As school-aged children, they often already have a history of academic and behavior
Prepared for:
Mr. F
Prepared by:
Ashley Y
Early Childhood Education
December 3, 2011
Did you know that the average age of a homeless person is a 9 year old boy? There are more homeless children then there are elderly and adults. In fact as of 2009 more than 1.5 million children are living without homes in the United States and 1.16 million children today will not graduate. A part of that makes up nearly 42 percent of children who are under the age of six. During the transition of adolescence to young adults the numbers of homeless women decrease while it continues to increase for males. Research and personal experience has taught that children without homes will continually go through a lack of uninterrupted schooling, reassuring routines, adequate healthcare, sustaining relationships, safety, comfort and privacy. These are all factors that endure everlasting scars (Coalition for the Homeless, 2010).
Homelessness impacts a child’s development even before birth. A majority of homeless parents are single women, many homeless as a child growing up. These women face many obstacles in pregnancy such as lack of health care, health problems and chemical abuse. Children born in to homelessness are more likely to have a low birth weight and are at a greater risk of death. Living without a home exposes infants to environmental factors which could endanger their health. A lack of an infant’s immunizations will often occur. As toddlers, children begin to show developmental delays which are believed to be influenced later as behavioral and emotional problems. As a preschooler children are often separated from their parents, which show to cause later long term effects. The emotional problems begin to set in increasing in development delays. These preschoolers receive very few services to fix the problem than other children their age. As school-aged children, they often already have a history of academic and behavior
References: "How Many Children Are Homeless in America?." Coalition for the Homeless. WordPress.com, 31 Mar. 2010. Web. 16 Nov. 2011. <http://cflhomeless.wordpress.com/2010/03/31/how-many-children-are-homeless-in-america/>. "Homeless Children: Americas New Outcasts." National Center on Family Homelessness. n. page. Web. 9 Nov. 2011. <http://www.nhchc.org/ShelterHealth/ToolKitA/A2HomelessChildren.pdf>. "Hunger and Povery Facts." Bread for the World. Convio, 2009. Web. 19 Nov 2011. <http://www.bread.org/hunger/us/facts.html>. Personal Interview. 18 Nov. 2011.