Lone parenthood

Chapter four explores the importance of, and relationship between, family formation, or ‘breakdown’ and lone parenthood in the context of childhood poverty. Few subjects excite the public and political imagination quite as much as the issue of lone parents. It is an area with strong connections to poverty, disadvantage, gendered inequalities, and the supposed breaching of normative values and expectations. I engage with myths and assumptions about lone parents and reveal the corrosive effect of demonising lone-parent family life on children’s lives and wellbeing. I show that relationships are dynamic, that lone parents are not a homogenous group, that a large proportion of children will spend time in a lone parent formation, and that how a government responds to lone parents in policy terms directly relates to how impoverished their children will be. This chapter also discusses how poverty and emotional mal-being are not inevitable consequences of separation and divorce. The role of separated fathers in lone parent families, particularly their financial contribution and involvement in their children’s lives, are explored.

Adversity and poverty

Chapter nine looks at the children who are particularly vulnerable and who are at increased risk of living in poverty. Some of these children are living outwith the protection of family and community, e.g. looked after children and refugee/asylum-seeking children, which enhances their risk of poverty and lack of support. Other children are bearing inappropriate levels of responsibility and are a hidden population, such as young carers. There is also a proportion of children who experience trauma and adversity in childhood, sometimes called ‘adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) - such as parental mental health issues, domestic abuse or a parent in prison - that put them at particular risk. These adverse circumstances can also make children more likely to experience complex needs in adulthood, such as homelessness, imprisonment, addiction or mental health issues. It is often the case that these particular adversities are confused with poverty, and there is often the assumption that all children living in poverty are exposed to adverse experiences. This chapter shows that, while it is the minority of children who experience additional adversities in childhood, they comprise a group of children in great need of dedicated services and a dedicated policy response.

Ethnicity and disability

Chapter eight looks at two groups of children who are at increased risk of living in poverty: those from an ethnic minority background and those who are disabled or who live in a family with a disabled family member. For those from an ethnic minority background the conscious and unconscious racism and discrimination they face affect many areas of life from education to employment and health. Those with a disability experience higher levels of poverty, personal and social disadvantage and are more likely to experience deprivation, debt and poor housing than children without disability in the family. This chapter explores the issues that affect children from these groups and emphasises the need to have policies that help to overcome the discrimination they face.

In and out of work

Chapter six explores the complex relationship between child poverty and families being in and out of work. It looks at the role of employment in lifting families out of poverty and how low quality, low security employment poses a threat to children and families rather than a route out of poverty. The chapter examines poverty and employment from the perspective of the child, exploring the implications for children of parental employment, unemployment, worklessness, low pay, and insecure employment. With the increase across the developed world of labour market activation, and the dominant status and values attached to employment, this chapter draws on research from children and low income working parents to highlight the challenges faced by children and families situated at the insecure, fragile end of the labour market. There are many actions by governments that interplay with employment and unemployment: in particular, this chapter looks at in-work benefits, labour market activation and welfare conditionality.

Conclusions

Each of the chapters has a section on ‘flipping the thinking’, an entreaty to encourage the reader to think about child poverty in a way that deviates from the current dominant discourse. At present, what people know or think they know about child poverty and its impacts derives from received wisdom, common sense ideas, what they hear and what they read in the media. Even many professionals working with families living in poverty do not necessarily appreciate the nuance of its risks, causes and consequences. These chapters’ entreaties to ‘flip the thinking’ are picked up and discussed further in chapter ten, the conclusions chapter. In this chapter questions are asked such as ‘what could be done? What should we do? How do we respond to thinking about child poverty differently?’ This chapter also explores the implications of the previous chapters, including the policy and practice changes required to improve the lives of children living in poverty. The implications addressed are: the importance of money, the importance of relationships, received wisdoms and unconscious bias, addressing the living conditions of those looking after children, and making successful transitions. The aim is to encourage all of us to ‘flip our thinking’ and allow alternative ideas and explanations to guide us on a path that might actually prevent and eradicate child poverty.

Health

Chapter seven focuses on health. It explores how poor health can be a risk, cause and consequence of poverty. It illuminates the ways in which poor health has particularly strong consequences for children and young people. There is a strong association between health and poverty with poor health being a universally accepted predictor of poverty across time and place. What is less well-known is that the association is bi-directional, that is that poverty also causes poor health. Even short-term falls in income increase the risk of ill health (Smith and Middleton, 2007: 58). This reverse causal relationship is strong and is also seen in people with disabilities: those who become disabled are more likely to have been poor beforehand. Another facet of health that is important to the study of children living in poverty is whether the health condition is physical or mental. Poverty is strongly related to poor mental health in adults and children. Furthermore, children are increasingly presenting with poor mental health themselves. This chapter focuses predominantly on mental health as an increasing risk to the wellbeing and outcomes of children living in poverty now and in the future.

Education

Chapter five explores the importance of understanding child poverty and its relationship to children’s education. It takes a child-centred perspective to situate children in the context of their peer relationships, pupil-teacher relationships and parental relationships to explore their wellbeing and achievement at school. Education has the potential to be a vital passport for low income children, but many children are unsettled, undervalued and underachieving at school. This chapter explores the importance of education, of school social and academic life to children living in poverty, of educational transitions, of examinations and achievements, and of wellbeing, participation and inclusion at school. It looks at how school culture and the misunderstandings of teachers on the causes and consequences of poverty can present a barrier to the full participation of children living in poverty in their schooling. It also addresses the cost of a school day some of the parental factors that are suggested to influence a child’s education, such as the so-called ‘poverty of aspiration’. It concludes by looking at the policy responses of affluent societies, which aim to close the attainment gap between advantaged and disadvantaged children, and discusses why we need to flip the thinking on education for children living in poverty.

Introduction

This chapter introduces the book by looking at how children view poverty and asking (and answering) why we should care about child poverty. It then defines what child poverty is, i.e. what makes it different to adult poverty, and discusses the different components we can use to explore it. How child poverty is understood is crucial to the steps that are taken to prevent, mitigate and alleviate it. This chapter also looks briefly at the causes of child poverty and discusses the consequences of misunderstanding or misrepresenting poverty in the lives of children.

Context

Chapter two looks at the profile of child poverty, as measured by both income and material deprivation, within the UK and beyond and explores whether its rates are increasing or decreasing. It looks in depth at the misunderstandings, causes and consequences of child poverty and how government (mis)understandings of child poverty affect how it is perceived and tackled. It looks too at the profile of child poverty as regards who lives in poverty and describes how child poverty is a dynamic phenomenon with different groups of families cycling into and out of poverty across time. The chapter emphasises the importance of income to child poverty and concludes by considering initiatives that maximise family incomes and prevent/reduce poverty and by asking the reader to flip their thinking on the causes and consequences of child poverty.

Family

Chapter three takes a critically informed look at the role of families, and children’s position within families, in understanding child poverty and disadvantage. It looks at the role of social support and gendered relationships and examines how families are not value-free environments. Family life under conditions of disadvantage tends to be pathologised and denigrated: parents who are ‘poor’ are frequently situated as ‘poor parents’. Low income families are particularly vulnerable to categorisation as ‘troubled families’ or troublesome families (Ribbens McCarthy et al 2013). This chapter looks at the myths and realities of family life at the bottom of the income structure, how children understand, negotiate and mediate poverty in family life and their experiences and agency within the family. It also considers how wealthier families, who are held up as the benchmark of the ideal family, reinforce and perpetuate the disadvantage of poor children and families by employing their superior resources to confer (further) advantage onto their own children.