Education

• Children who grow up in poor households are more likely to become poor themselves, perpetuating the problem when they have children of their own. Poverty can lead to children falling behind in their intellectual development, as poorer neighborhoods tend to have worse schools and fewer resources than middle and upper class neighborhoods. Parents who are forced to work long hours or at multiple jobs don't have the time to assist their children with nightly homework assignments. Investing in a child's education when they are young can provide them with the tools to excel in school when they get older. A child who excels in school has a better chance of getting a quality job after graduation. A better job means higher pay, and better pay means more opportunities a parent can afford to give her own children, thereby breaking the cycle of poverty.
  
  

Government Assistance

• The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act signed into law by President Obama in 2009 provides necessary aid to low-income families. The act provides funds for food stamp and unemployment programs, offers fiscal assistance to states that would otherwise be forced to cut essential social welfare programs, and creates tax credits that help low-income families. Such government programs are vital for ensuring that families below the poverty line do not sink any further. If these types of government programs were to lose funding, more children would go hungry and more families would find themselves on the streets. Increased spending on social welfare programs can be a tough sell during difficult economic periods, but maintaining these programs is paramount to the efforts to end child poverty.
  
  

Spreading the Word

• People can not actively work to fix a problem if they do not know a problem exists. The average American who keeps up with world news might know all about child poverty overseas without ever realizing how much child poverty effects kids in his own neighborhood. Spreading the word about how child poverty affects children in the U.S. can inform, and possibly outrage, enough people that a movement arises that helps to end child poverty. Holding community workshops, forming a nonprofit organization that tackles poverty in your neighborhood, and writing your state congressional representatives and senators, are some ideas on how individuals can help raise awareness.
  
  

Globally

• While Americans struggle to deal with child poverty here in the states, it is important that Americans not lose sight of the global struggle against child poverty. Organizations such as the United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF, need assistance to effectively battle such a massive global issue. UNICEF fights to ensure that children receive basic necessities such as food, clothing and shelter. UNICEF works to protect children from violence and exploitation, to ensure that children of both sexes receive the same standard of education, and to fight the spread of AIDS. Donating to UNICEF, and writing to your representatives in government about the need to increase U.S. support to organizations that address childhood poverty globally, can bring the world closer to ending child poverty.