Comp 110
Poroszok
2/27/14
Children in America
For a child, growing up in America may not be as wonderful as it sounds. The reason is because of the inclining number of children living below the poverty line. So many children are living with poor health options, corrupt government, and a terrible education system. These children are not being given a chance to succeed early in their lives. They are living in households with parents who work two jobs and still just get by, or with adults who are unable to provide the care they need. Children are this countries future, and if something doesn’t change, sadly the future is looking very grim.
Health care does not only consist of what goes on in the doctor’s office, it is what is practiced and taught within the home. An alarmingly high number of children are not provided with the correct nutrition to sustain a healthy life of learning and growing. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), 15.9 million children under the age of 18 live in households where nutritious food is unavailable (Alisha Coleman-Jensen, Mark Nord, and Anita Singh). This in the long run is going to have a major effect on the way these children live out the rest of their lives. A healthy and balanced diet is vital to a child’s mental health, the way they learn, and their physical health. While there are government funded programs like CHIP and Medicaid to help provide children below the poverty line with health care, this does not solve the problem. Poor children have a high infant mortality rate, frequent and severe chronic diseases, increased obesity, lower immunization rates, and less access to the health care they will need to help with all the issues tacked onto their lives (American Academy of Pediatrics).
In a country where the rich get richer, the ones who seem to be affected the most are the children living in poor conditions. Our government talks about change and progression, but all that changes...