[originaltext] Childhood poverty has both immediate and lasting negative eff

Childhood poverty has both immediate and lasting negative effects. Children in low-income families fare more poorly than children in more affluent families in the areas of economic security, health, and education. Children living in families that are poor are more likely than children living in other families to have difficulty in school, to become teen parents, and, as adults, to earn less and be unemployed more. The child poverty rate provides important information about the percentage of U.S. children whose current life circumstances are hard and whose futures are potentially limited as a result of their family’s low income.
     The full distribution of the income of children’s families is important, not just the percentage in poverty. Knowing that more and more children live in affluent families tells us that a growing proportion of America’s children enjoy economic well-being. The growing gap between rich and poor children suggests that poor children may experience more relative deprivation even if the percentage of poor children is holding steady.
    Since 1980, the percentage of children living in families with medium income has fallen from 41% to 34% in 1996, while the percentage of children living in families with high income and the percentage of children in extreme poverty have risen, from 17% to 24% and from 7% to 8%, respectively.