Is living in poverty abusive or is it a springboard to success? What do you think? How did your childhood influence your perceptions of money? Leave us a comment and join our community.
“Poverty is the worst form of violence.” Mahatma Ghandi
Many children in the world grow up in violent and abusive homes. That is a fact, but a sobering and scary fact. In my work as a parent educator it is easy to find a correlation of a tough economy, lack of work or income and parents taking out their anger on their children.
What is Abuse?
Abuse is one of those words that can be used in so many different contexts that it is hard to pin down just one meaning. Wikipedia says: Child abuse is the physical, sexual or emotional maltreatment or neglect of a child or children.[1] In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Department for Children And Families (DCF) define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or other caregiver that results in harm, potential for harm, or threat of harm to a child.[2] Child abuse can occur in a child’s home, or in the organizations, schools or communities the child interacts with.
How Can Poverty Cause Abuse?
Those who are without means to provide for their families often feel a sense of impending doom and lack of hope. Poverty not only takes away a family’s security and well-being but can deprive them of adequate food, clothing and shelter.
It limits their opportunities for education and healthcare. When schools and educational opportunities are not readily available, it fosters a downward spiral.
Low-income status or poverty can be considered abusive as it exposes children and adolescents to many of the other associated stressors such as poor nutrition, community violence, and substandard housing and health care.
Or….Poverty Can Be Springboard to Success
Many of the world’s richest, smartest and most entrepreneurial people came from a background of if not poverty, certainly a lack of ready money.
I keep a quote on my desk from Douglas Goodey www.20milliondollarman.com who made millions of dollars and then lost it all after retirement. He then went on to become the $20 million dollar man.
“I was not born into riches. In fact, I was born into poverty. I spent my formative years switching schools 10 times. As I got older, I realized that the reason for moving for in the middle of the night was that we could not pay the month’s rent. Despite that, I always wanted to excel at school.
My father never gave up despite the hardships we faced, and I was ever present by his side, learning what it means to have a sense of responsibility and a commitment to working towards a better standard of life.
I watched him, I listened and learned, and I realized one important truth. You can make excuses in life and stay at the mercy of circumstances, or can take control and decide that you will never be at the mercy of circumstances. Rather, you will carve and shape your own.”
Financial Resiliency
No matter what the circumstances you came from, you have the opportunity to change them. You can be a bounce back person who takes charge of your own destiny. The first step in any change is making a decision.
Decide to be financially secure and don’t count on others to take care of your financial needs. You will find over 147 ideas of how to earn extra money in our latest book How To Make Fast Cash- Fun and Legal Ways To Earn More Money In a Weekend. Order the ebook, find a method and go to work. You will be so glad you did.
Be sure and sign up for other abundance ideas at http://www.WelcomeAbundance and join our community of kind, thoughtful people who have respect for all at http://www.ArtichokePress.com
You are free to use this blog post in your blog or ezine, but please give full credit to Judy Helm Wright, author and speaker. Please leave a comment Thank you from the bottom of my artichoke heart.
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