Percentage of Children Living Below the Poverty Line in the US

Coursework Instructions:

Select one of the following questions:
Option 1: What is the % of children living below the poverty line in the US. Compare this number to that of other industrialized nations. How does the US compare? What do you think living in poverty does to the decision-making of parents when it comes to the quality of their child's nutrition? What does your research tell you are the top 2 reasons why poor parents are more likely to allow their children junk food than more affluent parents?
Option 2: As sociologists, we can ask: what institutions influence childhood obesity? How would they need to shift in order to deliver high-quality nutrition to children? Do children experience other ill-effects, on a societal level, from obesity? Do you think that high-profile initiatives like former First Lady Obama's, "Let's Move" campaign, in limiting sodas and junk food in schools, are useful in influencing structural changes that affect children?
Option 3: Companies that create junk food insist that they have a right to sell products, including products marketed to children. Communities insist that they have a right to protect themselves from harm, including the harm posed by skyrocketing ill-health caused by poor nutrition and the societal costs associated with that. Consider these arguments and present the pros and cons of each side on the subject of banning the sale or advertising of such foods specifically to children. Which is more compelling to you? Which other nations prohibit such marketing? Should supermarkets be required to limit the amount of non-nutritious junk food they put on their shelves? What aspects of American cultural ideology present barriers to any or all of such proposals?

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Week 7 Discussion
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Week 7 Discussion
American children rank as the poorest age group, with 1 in 6 children living in abject poverty. According to the American Census Bureau, about 20% of children in the United States live below the poverty line and are estimated to be about 13 million children (Parolin & Brady, 2019). Also, almost 40% of children spend their lives in poverty before attaining 18, with some being forced to drop out of school. The top three states with the highest child poverty are Mississippi, Arkansas, and New Mexico. Other states that register high poverty rates are Alabama, Kentucky, Oklahoma, and Maine who have the highest food insecurity cases in the United States. The statistic attributes that the children living below the poverty line are mostly from homes with low income, depriving them of a decent education, access to proper nutrition, and are always prone to violence and homelessness.
In comparison with other developed countries, the United States registers the highest number of poor children. The poverty drivers in the United States include household property and parent's participation in labor markets. Additionally, the United States does not invest sufficiently in children and families from low backgrounds, increasing child poverty, and poor educational ad health outcomes. Industrialized nations such as Germany, the United Kingdom, and Japan record lower child poverty rates than the United States, which has 17.8 percent of children living in poverty (Smeeding & Thévenot, 2016). Japan has a lower child poverty rate of about 15.7 percent; the United Kingdom has a statistic of 11.9 percent. It has a much lower rate of 10.4 percent than the United States, which has 17.8% of children living in or below the poverty line. Norway records the lowest child poverty range, 5%, and has been ranked as the worlds' lowest rate.
Eating behaviors amongst children change during the first years of life, where nutrition focus...

Updated on January 26, 2024

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Percentage of Children Living Below the Poverty Line in the US

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