Childhood poverty from a European perspective
"Children who are born into poverty run the risk of bearing the consequences for the rest of their school careers", says researcher Katrien De Boyser. The conference ‘Child in Flanders’, will offer a European perspective on poverty and will seek good practices in the field of fighting poverty.
In the Lisbon strategy of 2000, the EU-member states set ambitious goals for reducing (childhood) poverty in Europe by 2010. "However, this has for the most part failed", says De Boyser, who does research at the University of Ghent on the impact of poverty on children. "After all, the European Union could not enforce these goals among the member states. In the area of poverty, it can only make recommendations and encourage knowledge exchange."
The Lisbon process has, however, led to greater attention for poverty among children. "In this way, it has nevertheless been worthwhile", according to De Boyser.
Poverty among children has major consequences
The fact that greater attention for childhood poverty is urgently needed is also apparent from De Boyser’s research. "Children born into poverty run the risk of bearing the consequences for the rest of their school careers", she explains. "Especially in the first 3 to 6 years of life, the impact of poverty is the greatest. That is the time when children learn to think, speak and listen. If they have delayed development in these areas, it is almost impossible for them to catch up later on."
Statistics indicate that families living in poverty also have relatively greater risk of child mortality, that the children are more prone to low birth weight and there is even a risk that brain development can be compromised by the negative stress that they experience. "It is interesting to see that researchers from different disciplines arrive at the same conclusions. That proves that there truly is a very big problem", reflects De Boyser.
Accessible child care
At the conference, participants will look for good practices for addressing the problem of childhood poverty. "The Scandinavian countries are doing well in that area and it is therefore worthwhile to explore the initiatives that they are taking", says De Boyser.
"Childcare that is accessible and affordable for all can be an important factor. Also, a good work-life balance and a strong involvement of the parents in, for example, childcare, school, or programmes for parenting support plays a role, I believe. But it will certainly also be interesting to hear what other participants think about this at the conference", she concludes.