The Current Economic Crisis: Positive and Negative Consequence for Children

The United States economy has plummeted to its lowest point since the Great Depression, with the unemployment rate currently at an astonishing 8.1 percent—the highest over the past twenty-five years. In such a financial upheaval, many adults slump into just precisely that—a great and woeful depression. Fifty-three year old Wanda Dunn, whose house had recently fallen into foreclosure, set her home ablaze before committing suicide inside of it. Even more shocking is the story of Ervin Lupoe, the unemployed father of five who shot his children and wife to death before taking his own life. Clearly the turmoil of the economy has caused extreme stress and tragedy for many Americans over the past year. And yet, as much as we hear about the wretched suicides and job layoffs in the media, we rarely are informed of how the current economic state is affecting the children of our country. From abortion, to childhood depression, to substance abuse, it seems that the economy does take its toll on the younger demographic, and not at a pretty cost. While some on the other side of the argument contend that the doomed economy can actually benefit children positively, causing them to become more resilient and allowing them to learn to connect with others and appreciate more, the negative factors of a meager economy greatly outweigh the positive. Only those who have the resources and time to succeed in a down-falling economy will triumph, but the reality is that most families are not opportunely fortunate during a recession.

As a result of layoffs and salary cuts, children and adolescents are impacted on various levels. In fact, some babies are not even seeing the light of day at all, as many couples are postponing pregnancy due to their slimmed down bank accounts. According to Melissa Schorr, birth rates tend to drop in times of economic uncertainty, and how far the birth rate falls depends on how severe the financial crunch turns out to be. On the same note, abortions are on the rise even though some women are struggling to afford contraception and other related medical procedures. It is a double-edged sword with less women eligible to pay for birth control, but more abortions being requested as a result of couples unable to afford families. However, as for those that are forced to deal with the reality of the present economy, it appears even children are no strangers to the stressors of the financial crisis. Towards the end of the past year, as the country slumped further into a recession, an article found online clearly describes an unfortunate phenomenon—childhood depression. It involves persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness as well as mood changes (see image right). Unlike adults though, depression may be expressed more so through persistent anger or irritability as well as angry ‘acting out’ behaviors. Significant changes in peer relationships, self-mutilating behavior and abuse of alcohol or drugs may also be seen in those who are extremely depressed.

Children are prone to depression and/or substance abuse when exposed to familial changes like job loss or move. The Henry Ford News describes them as often able to "detect signs that something is wrong at home and if left uninformed about their parents' employment or economic status, [they] may become overwhelmed with negative thoughts.” Similarly, as found in “Youth at Risk,” it is hypothesized that adolescents enmeshed in a struggling economy are more at jeopardy for experimenting with drugs and alcohol (compared to usual circumstances). One reason may be that while under extreme financial pressure, parents care most about making ends meet and tend to focus less on the everyday activities and the whereabouts of their sons and daughters. Robin Testerman, the director of Children Center in Surry County, laments, “We are seeing parents having to leave their young [kids] unsupervised because they cannot afford daycare and have little or no family support.” The outcome is that some are finding themselves involved in unfortunate situations. Says Testerman, “kids are exposed to more things like text messaging and the influence of the Internet. Parents are the anti-drug— [children need] positive parental involvement that deters drinking and substance abuse.” And yet, the entirety of the problem is that parental involvement is what lacks during these hard times. Moreover, what makes the situation even direr is when they themselves turn to drugs such as prescription pills to deal with daily tension. If mothers and fathers indulge in substance abuse, their children may soon follow, viewing it as a coping mechanism that is simply acceptable.

Even adolescents that are not as harshly impacted by the economic downturn still must make regrettable adjustments to their futures. Minnpost.com described yesterday how college-bound seniors are coping with the current state of affairs. While one enthusiastic high schooler once aimed for a racially diverse university that would provide him “flavor,” he is now scouring for affordable schools that grant scholarships. Another bright-eyed senior dreamed of attending college in Colorado, where she would “set [her] own trail.” However, with the price of tuition steadily rising, she is going to have to settle for a cheaper in-state school. Evidently then, adults are not the only ones feeling the weight of the financial crisis bear down on them. With parents being able to give less, their children are even more worried than ever about getting jobs at an earlier age and providing for themselves. Is this a good thing? Some advocates (like Anderson Cooper) argue that yes, it is, believing that the economic slump actually presents positive opportunities for children. John Rosemond of the Detroit Free Press candidly wrote last week that we are a generation of consumers not contributors, and perhaps the economy will “force parents to cut back on after school trivia, let their home cleaning and yard maintenance services go, and put their kids to work.” It is true that maybe the financial crisis can help young people learn the value of a dollar, and may force them to start performing “chores” again (see image left). Also, children learn how to deal with adverse situations when they do not receive all the material goods they once did, a forum for building resilience according to “4 Ways Bad Economy Benefits Children.” Says the author, “Research shows that children who grow up receiving a never-ending stream of stuff are less grateful for what they have.” He believes that having less superfluous material goods will implement more familial connectedness and bonding. And, while this surely may be true for those parents who have the resources to spend more time at home and focusing on their parenting skills, it is probably more realistic that, as of now, the majority of parents are working double time and are not there to supervise and ingrain moral values into their offspring.

Essentially the financial crisis we are currently experiencing has a dark and light side, a yin and yang of both positive and negative factors affecting children, depending on the individual situation of each family. Some may thrive under the neo-simplistic nature of current living, while others may bear the brunt of these struggling times. Unfortunately though, the latter situation is probably more realistic given the amount of stress that families are under due to the failing nature of our once glorious economy. While it would be fantastic if all parents could use their withering budgets to get their children to engage in more activities outdoors (rather than purchasing pricy videogames for them), and spending more time as a family unit, this is probably only a possibility for a small minority of the population. The rest of the country will have to hang on tightly until the future starts to look brighter.