In the coming days, when the U.S. Census Bureau releases its latest data on child poverty and the number of children living without health coverage, we expect both to be on the increase. It’s unfortunate enough for adults who don’t have health insurance or live in poverty, but for children, those situations are actually damaging. For the tens of thousands who are under age five in their important development years, it likely means they will start behind and never catch up to their peers who live in more-economically stable homes.

Just as a house built on a faulty foundation cannot stand up to stress, children also suffer when their development is interrupted by the effects of poverty, unattended health problems, unsafe environments, or relationships that aren’t nurturing. These interruptions, known as “toxic stress” can permanently damage a child’s brain functioning and ability to fully develop.
Toxic stress (PDF) results from intense adverse experiences extending over a long period of time. It makes children more susceptible to illness and puts them behind their peers in development. While stress is part of any new experience and learning, children need environments free of toxic stress in order to thrive.

Children’s Defense Fund-Minnesota will soon publish its annual Minnesota KIDS COUNT Data Book 2009, which outlines how children are faring in all 87 counties based on a variety of key indicators. We will use the latest poverty data, and outline ways to address child poverty and the growing number of children living without health coverage.