ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the meaning of child poverty; the consequences of child poverty; the causes of child poverty; and the responses to child poverty. United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) offers an alternative, and perhaps more comprehensive, discourse to the meaning of child poverty. The European Commission preserved its 1975 European Council's description of 'child poverty'. It correlates poverty to inadequate income and resources that prevent them from having an acceptable standard of living similar to others in their society. The UK's Department for Work and Pension's figures show that from 2013 to 2014, there were 3.7 million children living in poverty – three in every ten children in the UK. Some of the factors affecting child poverty include individuals' beliefs, attitudes and behaviors; political factors; and economic factors. Studies have found that low-income families in general consume fewer nutrients and fresh fruits and vegetables than average-income families.
