I was very fortunate to not grow
up with any major childhood stressors.
My father-in-law, however, was raised by alcoholic parents and he lived
in extreme poverty until he left home at 17.
The alcoholism is what caused the family to live in poverty because his
parents would spend all of their money on alcohol instead of food for their
children and when he did eat it was usually high fat and high calorie food.
Years ago, my father-in-law told me that
there were many times that he went to bed hungry and that there were many times
that he was so hungry that he ate lard because there was no food in the
house.
As a result, when my
father-in-law was 17-years-old he lied about his age in order to enlist in the
United States Navy so that he would at least have three meals a day for four
years.
Unfortunately, there were long-term
affects to the malnutrition that he experienced as a child.
He developed heart problems in his 40’s which
resulted in his first heart attack, and then he eventually had two more heart
attacks and had to have a defibrillator implanted.
Unfortunately, he passed away last year of
Congestive Heart Failure.
In 2012 UNICEF conducted a study
of child poverty in the world and found that Romania has the highest rate of child
poverty. Numerous factors were measured
in this study, not just the amount of food that the children have. I also included money, environment, clothing,
access to books, and outdoor activities (UNICEF, 2012).
Melissa, I am so sorry for the loss of your father-in-law. Poverty has stricken our world for many years. You'd e be surprised of how many children that do go to bed at night hungry. My close childhood friend's father was an alcoholic, but thankfully her mother was not. If both of her parents would have been alcoholics, I am sure that she would have suffered from poverty as well. How can a child function if thier body is lacking nutrition. That's why it's important that schools continue to offer all children free breakfast and lunches. You never know whats in the cubbards at a child's home. Due to the budget and recession, many schools have either cut out serving certain meals or have insisted that parent's pay a reduced rate for children's meals. How sad!!! If schools offer free public education, they should provide the meals as well. This goes to show that the effects of poverty and lack of nutrition can be harmful on a child's future as an adult.Great Post!!
ReplyDeleteMelissa, I am sorry about your loss. I know that as a child it can be very stressful. I have two younger twin cousins whose father is an alcoholic and I know they are stressed however they try and stay strong and positive during this hard time. That's why I admire them so much. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteMelissa,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I'm sorry for the loss of your father -in-law. It's sad that poverty is still today very much an impact on malnutrition with children. I have seen some programs though that are trying to bridge that disconnect like back pack meals home over the weekend distributed by schools and an increased amount of food banks being set-up that are accessible to families, like at there local church, community center etc. I know we have some way to go in making sure our children are healthy, but I'm glad that stories like your family is being shared to keep us mindful of the consequences that malnutrition can have if not dealt with as early as possible.