There are a lot of issues in childhood development, and there always have been. That doesn’t mean we should not be concerned about these issues, despite how complicated and unsolvable they may be. The major issue plaguing childhood development is the amount of essential resources (food, shelter, health, social) available to the young demographic. Without enough food, children die and many children do die everyday due to malnutrition. Health is another big contributor, with children in less affluent countries having less access to doctors and medicines essential for their survival and well-being. These two could account for the majority of development issues alone, however, shelter and social life are just as important. Homeless youth do not have access to a safe and warm place, where they can focus on their education and play. The lack of housing during childhood certainly leads to development issues, similar in nature to a lack of food and medicine. A lack of a good social/familial life is another major issue in childhood development. The development of these children lacking in social well-being may not have physical development issues as those children without food, shelter and/or health, but their mental and emotional capabilities will be lessened. A child neglected in love and caring by their parents can certainly be sure to have social issues in school and with their friends. A child properly cared for, will develop into a healthy and happy member of society.

Many examples exist for improper youth development, as is evident in everyday news of children in low socioeconomic status. The adoption of programs in the United States, and other affluent countries has decreased the impact of childhood poverty, such as food stamps, assisted housing, health care for the needy, and other social programs. These programs support and give a gleam of hope for a large percentage of the lower income demographic. The benefits of such programs extend to all citizens in their time of need, or so the program should go. Not everyone that needs these programs can get them, unfortunately. There is only a finite amount of money budgeted towards these programs, in 2016 that cost is 19% of the total budget or $740 billion being spent toward government assistance programs including Medicaid. With that budget, and according to the United States Census Bureau, in 2012 there were approximately 52.2 million (21.3%) participating in government assistance programs each month. That is a lot of people for that budget. Some children just don’t get the resources they need, for whatever reason. This is not to say that children of lower socioeconomic status are the only ones to have less developmental resources, there are also children in high-wealth families that never get the family love or familial bonds they need. There are children that are lacking in every socioeconomic status, it is just more likely that a child will be suffering from physical ailments, lacking the health, nutrition and shelter they physically need. 
