Consequences of Stress on Children's Development

Both of my parents grew up with large families and were poverty stricken.  My parents had to work at young ages, help support their families and do well in school.  My parents were able to be successful individuals when they grew up with the support of individuals (family, community, teachers) around them.


Impact of Poverty on Children’s
Development and Educational Outcomes
In all countries, poverty presents a chronic stress
for children and families that may interfere with successful adjustment to developmental tasks, including school achievement.

Children raised in low-income
families are at risk for academic and social problems as
well as poor health and well-being, which can in turn
undermine educational achievement.


In developing countries, children in
poverty are at much greater risk of never attending
school than wealthier children, and these differences
are wide (for example, in a sample of 80 countries,
12% of children in the top percentile of households never attended school, whereas 38% of children in
the poorest percentile never attended school).


The resilience whereby some children are spared from the
negative effects of poverty may reflect individual differences in how families cope with poverty or are able to buffer their children as well as individual differences in the children themselves.
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