Consequences of Stress on Children’s Development

I had a best friend who had to cope with poverty. Growing up, I never realized how much she had to cope with. When we went to school, she always had to struggle more than I did. I had lots of school supplies, my parents would help me with my school work and I had access to all the books I needed. During my high school career, I also had access to a computer and the Internet. My friend on the other hand had to struggle because she had none of these. Her parents were on welfare and could not help her with most of her homework. She also had to help with watching her younger siblings. Her closing was always old and ragged. She brought her own lunch to school and was never able to buy school lunches. Many of the children in our class made fun of her because she never had the latest clothing articles or sneakers. When I got older, I began to understand how much it affected her. Every time we went to go shopping or to the movies, she found an excuse not to come. Growing up, I found this odd but when I talk to her now, I finally understand the hardship. Poverty does not only affect the body but also the mind. In later years, she confided in me how much her self-esteem suffered because she felt left out. She never had money to do the things we did even though she wanted to. We tried to involve her by offering to buy her movie tickets because we knew she had no money. However, she always felt that we are taking pity on her rather than trying to be nice. She was too proud to just accept the offers because it felt like begging.

Poverty in India:

Even though malnutrition and hunger are a big problem in India, the policy making is amongst the worse in the world. According to Hansan (2009) the child under-nutrition rate in India is 46 per cent. This is almost twice as that of sub-Saharan Africa, which is economically speaking poorer than India. Hansan states that India ranks 66th among the 88 countries surveyed by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). "It comes below Sudan, Nigeria and Cameroon, and slightly above Bangladesh" (Hansan, 2009). The recent rise in food prices has possibly made matters worse in terms of people's access to food. The persistence of poverty is the poor implementation of government programmes (especially Integrated Child Development Services and the Public Distribution System), and various other factors .

The 2009 Congress promises in their manifesto to enact a law to facilitate access to sufficient food for all, particularly the most vulnerable and deprived sections of society. Not surprisingly, making access to food a fundamental right is likely to become the centrepiece of the United Progressive Alliance's second innings. "Politically the main challenge is to ensure that the Right to Food law is not limited to the fulfillment of the Congress election promise of 25 kg of grain a month at Rs. 3 a kg for Below Poverty Line families: this would amount to whittling down the people's access to food in the guise of the new law" (Hansan, 2009). If Congress makes true on their manifesto, this would be a great improvement on their child development.

Jacob (2010) describes the Reproductive and Child Health Programme II. This program incorporates the Integrated Child Development Services and the National Rural Health Mission, which have resulted in massive inputs in the health sector. Again, if the new administration makes good on promises, reducing poverty and improving health care systems can make a big impact on children's lives and development.

Reference

Hansan, Zoya (2009). Legislating against hunger. The Hindu, Chennai.

Jacob, K. S. (2010). Millennium Development Goals & India. The Hindu, Chennai.