Overcoming Impact of Poverty

"When young children are growing up in households that struggle daily with having enough money to buy food, medical care, basic housing, and household supplies, they are also more likely to experience neglect, abuse, and excessive stress or trauma," observes Linda Espinosa in her book Getting it Right for Young Children from Diverse Backgrounds (Boston:  Pearson Learning Solutions, 2010).  "These multiple influences of an impoverished early learning environment can threaten healthy development." 

However, Espinosa points out that these adverse effects of poverty can be overcome when children have the opportunity to participate in high-quality early childhood programs.  Based on research reviewed in her book, Espinosa outlines the characteristics of early childhood settings that best serve children from disadvantaged settings.  Here are a few examples...

"Children are respected, nurtured, and challenged.  They enjoy close, warm relationships with adults and other children in their classroom.  They frequently interact and communicate with peers and adults; they do not spend long periods of time waiting, being ignored, or isolated.  Children enjoy and look forward to school."

"Children have ongoing opportunities to learn important skills, knowledge, and dispositions.  Classrooms are busy with conversations, projects, experiments, reading, and building activities.  These materials and activities are individualized and challenge children's intellectual development."

"Children are able to make meaningful decisions throughout the day.  They can choose from a variety of activities and decide what type of products they want to create, engage in important conversations with friends, and exercise their curiosity."

"Children's home language and culture are respected, appreciated, and incorporated into the curriculum and the classroom."

"Children participate in individual, small-group, and large-group activities.  They learn important social and self-regulatory skills through adult guidance and appropriate discipline.  Not all children are expected to develop at the same rate;  individual needs and abilities are accommodated in all learning activities."

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