What impact do poverty and/or a lack of food have on a child’s development?

1. What impact do poverty and/or a lack of food have on a child’s development?
2. What factors do you think have helped Ming to be on target with her cognitive and language skills? What strategies used by Ms. Tao may have helped at school?
3 What supports at both school and in the home could be provided to help Ming get and then stay on track with the other areas of development? What other supports could be offered to help Ming’s family? Please use the following book/reference: You met Ming at the beginning of the chapter and might remember her strong verbal skills. She comes from a low-income family. The Department of Social Services provides her child care free of charge because of the severe poverty of her family. She often comes to the program without having eaten and insufficiently dressed for the weather. Her 24-year-old mother is a day laborer who has three other children under the age of 7. Ming’s teacher, Ms. Tao, has known from daily interactions that her mother has limited English proficiency. When the first parent conference was held, she called on the services of another parent who is bilingual in her specific dialect. While explaining her observations of Ming’s development in all areas, she learned that Ming’s mother was overwhelmed with all of the information. She slowed down and focused on what she believed were the most important pieces of information about Ming. For example, she shared that Ming was on target with her language and cognitive development but is often hungry and tired. Working through the interpreter, they created a plan to redesign the evening routine to help Ming get more sleep. The teacher also provided information on community resources such as a local food bank in case the family didn’t have access to enough food resources.
Swim, Terri Jo. Infants, Toddlers, and Caregivers: Caregiving and Responsive Curriculum Development (p. 341). Cengage Learning. Kindle Edition.

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