The Affects of Stress on Cognitive Development

Poverty is a stressor that can affect child development beginning in utero. Poverty will affect the mother’s ability to have access to proper nutrition and medical care. Proper nutrition affects brain development. Parents who are experiencing conditions of poverty are not able to provide stimulating experiences for their children. They are often uneducated themselves and do not understand the importance of providing stimulating experiences for their children. Children from poor families usually do not have access to good preschool programs. Instead, they stay with a neighbor or family member that is also untrained in the area of how to support cognitive development in young children. There are nonprofit organizations that provide childcare for low income families, but the quality of care is not adequate enough. The qualifications for employees are bare minimum, making the child’s experiences similar to what they would be receiving from a neighbor or family member. Children who do not have access to a preschool experience are less likely to b e successful in Kindergarten compared to those children who have had the exposure. I began working at a non-profit preschool part time when I was 17 years old. 100% of the families fell under the poverty line. The center received government funding in order to operate. The teachers were under paid and met only the minimum educational requirements that the state enforced. Many of the teachers were struggling financially themselves and were there just for the pay check. I think it is fair to say that the children were receiving a less than stellar education. Over the years I have managed to keep in contact with a few of the families. Unfortunately, the majority of the children that I used to care for have begun to repeat the cycle of poverty that they were raised in. Many of the young girls became pregnant before they left high school and are now on public assistance. Just two of the children that I managed to keep in contact with are in college and seem to be doing well. They have a deep want to escape the poverty that they were raised in and not continue the cycle. From watching these children grow up I have learned that many of them equate their own abilities on what they see around them. They do not see people trying to overcome, so they don’t. Instead they see people settling for what they have without seeking opportunities to do better and they believe this is all they will be able to do. Very few of these children find the drive to overcome adversity and succeed. The possibility is there, but the drive is not.