Consequences of Stress on Children's Development

Chaos in the neighborhood
When I was about eight years old a family moved onto our street that had five children, a mom, and a dad. My brother and I played with the kids everyday after school. If I remember correctly they were all boys. We lived in an area where we were surrounded by woods and a state mental hospital, which made exploration very interesting. One cold, gray afternoon we were startled by a pounding on the front door. It was the dad of the five kids who lived up the street. He had the kids in the car. My mom invited him in and he started crying saying that his wife had left him. I think it was the first time I had ever seen a grown man cry. The kids in the car looked shell shocked. The mom had run away and left them. The mom never returned and the family imploded. The dad started drinking and couldn't take care of the kids. The children were placed in the orphanage (yes, we had one in the town I grew up in). We still saw the kids in school, but they were never the same. If I remember correctly, the older boy was returned home and the dad had a girlfriend that moved into the home. I heard that the other kids got into trouble and then they moved away. I often wonder what happened to them.
Childhood Poverty in India
I chose to learn more about how poverty impacts the lives of the children in India. I read a book about poverty in India several years ago and the book opened my eyes to the daily struggles of people in India. Life for children in India is very hard. Almost half of all children under the age of five are malnourished. There are inequalities in child well being based on gender, class, and caste. Despite the efforts of society and government, the cycle of disadvantage begins at birth and continues throughout childhood to adulthood and even into the next generation.
In recent years India's anti poverty programs have been subject to reform to ensure better targeting and coverage. Rural poverty continues because of lack of access to skills, health, and education. Despite the recent economic growth poverty numbers remain high. The enrollment of primary school-aged children rose from 68% to 82%. India still accounts for 20% of the world's out of school children. It has the largest numbers of working children in the world, with nearly a third of children below 16 years working.
References:
World Deevelopment Indicators Database, April 2003
World Bank, 2000, India-Reducing Poverty, Accelerating Development
UNICEF Country Statistics: India