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What is child poverty?
What is child poverty?
It is reported that 4.4 million children between the ages of 0-16 years in the UK live in poverty (Department for Work and Pensions, 2021). Of which Joseph Rowntree Foundation (2020b) report 1.5 million children under the age of 5 live in poverty. Poverty as seen in video below by ECPUK is decided upon by family income. However, for children, it is not about the money. Child poverty is about the lack of provisions needed in order to not only thrive but more importantly to survive (Stewart & Roberts, 2019). The video 'What is childhood Poverty?' created by ECPUK for this website explains in a simplistic the current state of child poverty in the UK, the changes over the past decade and the basic needs a child needs to survive.
Child poverty statistics, UK.
Child poverty statistics, UK.
Following is an overview of childhood poverty statistics in the UK. It should be noted however, statistics provide a snapshot in time and the figures may have changed since the date of publishing (Francis-Devine, 2021). Nonetheless, according to the Office for National Statistics (2021) there are 12.7 million children living in the UK aged between 0 and 16 years, of which the Department for Work and Pensions (2021) states 4.4 million, that's 35% live in a household with income below £17,760 (the current poverty line). 19% of the children in the UK live in relative poverty (household income below£17,760 but more than £15,660) and 16% live in Absolute poverty (household income below £15,660). Data sourced from Joseph Rowntree Foundation (2021) is demonstrated on the line graph below, showing changes in child poverty in the UK over the past 10 years. Child poverty rates in the UK have fluctuated, with 2019-2020 being the highest percentage in the past decade and this was before the Corona Virus pandemic. Lyndon (2019) predicts child poverty rates will continue to rise suggesting by 2022 40% of children will be living in a household below the poverty line. This prediction was made before the impact of the pandemic since which large numbers of people have been made unemployed.
In Portsmouth, in 2019/2020 there were 39,235 children aged between 0-16 years old of which 37% (14,517) live in poverty (Department for Work and Pensions, 2021). 20% (7,989) of these children live in relative poverty and 17% (6,528) live in absolute poverty (End Child Poverty, 2021).
Data sourced from the Office for National Statistics (2021)
Data sourced from Child Poverty Action Group (2021b)
Data sourced from Joseph Rowntree Foundation (2021) shows Changes in child poverty in the UK. Over the past 10 years, child poverty rates in the UK have fluctuated, with 2019-2020 being the highest percentage in the past decade and this was before the Corona Virus pandemic.
BBC News (2021) report in the UK, a third of all families with children under the age of 5 are living in poverty already struggling to meet the families basic needs. This situation was elevated when the global Corona Virus pandemic reached the UK in January 2020 (Lillie et al., 2020). The news report highlights how the pandemic affected those already struggling to get by.
Maslow (1943) Hierarchy of Needs theory.
Maslow (1943) Hierarchy of Needs theory.
The video 'Childhood Poverty UK' has demonstrated that for children, poverty it's not about money. Even though household income influences if a child is classed as living in poverty for children, child poverty is about the lack of provisions needed to survive and thrive (Stewart & Roberts, 2019). Children need healthy food, clean water, warm shelter, suitable clothing, and adequate sleep to survive. Maslow (1943) describes these as physiological needs. Goldstien and Brooks (2012) link Maslow's theory for personal growth to Resilience, a concept of doing well despite adversity. Maslow suggests our nature as humans is not just to survive but thrive, and to do this, we need to build Resilience.
Maslow’s (1943) Hierarchy of needs is formed of five layers. The first two lays of the pyramid of needs Maslow describe as basic needs. We are born with the condition for these to be fulfilled. They are innate within us. Without these basic needs, we cannot function. The following two levels are our psychological needs. Maslow suggests that although it is our nature for these needs to be fulfilled, it is also our nurture that influences their outcomes. The top layer is self-actualisation. However, Maslow's work isn't without its faults. Although Maslow's theory is widely accepted, used and taught, research shows little evidence to substantiate the Hierarchy of needs theory, suggesting it lacks reliability and validity (Wahba & Bridwell, 1976; Hofstede, 1984; Tay & Diener, 2011). However, as ECHUK focuses on what is needed for children living in poverty to develop into 'healthy individuals' (Maslow, 1943), Maslow's has been selected to demonstrate the basic needs of an individual.
Furthermore, Maslow (1987) states for an individual to progress on the path to self-actualisation there is no need for all the other element on each level to be fulfilled. However, the more that is 'missing from the lower levels the harder it will be to reach self-actualisation. Without a secure foundation, and when more of the individual's needs are taken away due to poverty, the 'tower' will inevitably collapse. Resulting in an individual's journey of self-actualisation may be prohibited.
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