A recent study details something that isn’t a surprise to many of us: the quality of life for children is declining.
In fact, The Child and Youth Well-Being Index Project says that the standard of living for children has declined so much that it currently mirrors levels in 1975. In essence, many children today are living as their counterparts did 35 years ago.
The project bases its predictions on nearly 30 indicators of well-being, including economic well-being, safe and risky behavior, social relationships, emotional and spiritual well-being, community engagement, educational attainment and health. The report says contributing factors to the decline are job losses and the decline of real income.
Here are highlights of the report findings:
In 2010 alone, 15.6 million children are estimated to be living in poverty.
This year, approximately 500,000 U. S. children may be homeless.
About 20 million children live in families where neither parent has secure employment.
From 2007 to the end of this year, 750,000 children are estimated to live in “food-insecure” homes.
In addition to the aforementioned, obesity will continue to be on the rise because lower quality, processed foods are less expensive and more accessible than healthy alternatives. The report also predicts that the level of community engagement will decrease due to a reduction of teachers as well as various programs.
What I find interesting about The Child and Youth Well-Being Index Project is that the report doesn’t get to the true roots of the problem. It does a great job of detailing the problems concerning today’s youth, but it doesn’t go deeper. I would love to see a report that highlights the bottom-layer of problems, rather than the immediate cause of such issues. For instance, of those 500,000 children who are expected to be homeless this year, many of them will be in such a dilemma because banks approved their parents for homes with interest rates that would be difficult for an upper- middle class person to afford, let alone someone who is of a lower-income level. The retribution for the parent is the loss of their home; but the consequence for the bank is a slap on the wrist… and of course more money from the federal government.
Banks get fatter and fatter, while many Americans lose their jobs and homes.
But it doesn’t end with banks and foreclosures. There are other contributing factors that are at the core of this predicament: teachers’ unfair pay scale. Perhaps one blogger from Maryland said it best: “Football players get $60 million contracts while teachers get entry-level pay to work in battle zones of bullying, violence and inadequate classrooms and understaffed schools.”
Until we adequately address the true underlying problems that this country faces, it will be difficult for us to climb out of this pitfall we’re currently experiencing. We have to get to the real source of the problem, before tangible and long-term solutions can be devised.
This country and its occupants have considerable challenges ahead. The Child and Youth Well-Being Index Project that details the declining quality of life for today’s children leads me to wonder what tomorrow’s adults will be like. Undoubtedly, the effects of their current lives can quite possibly adversely affect them as adults.
