The Effect of Job Loss on Children

During today’s recession many people have been laid off from all different types of jobs in all different classes. While the resultant stress for the person laid off and possibly their spouse is apparent, unemployment hurts children as well. During today’s recession, laid-off parents tend to fall into one of two groups: the first says that the loss of their job has actually helped their family life by giving them more time to spend with their children. The other group says it creates more stress for the kids. This is possibly from having a depressed parent around, parental arguing or big changes in lifestyle resultant from a loss of income. Children also pick up on what is going on, and sometimes worry about their own future. They worry that they won’t be able to go to college or get a good job when they grow up. Children during the Great Depression in the 1930’s suffered similar stresses, only a greater scale. Many children even wrote letters to the president and first lady asking for everything from clothes to money to go to college (see several examples below). These children’s families were often split up as parents searched for work, and many lost their homes completely. There was a large number of vagrant children who lost their families completely. But for the children who remained with their families, the loss of a parent’s job and the potential moving that followed it disrupted their opportunities and performance in school. The loss in education limited their opportunities later in life, whether getting into college or getting a job. During today’s recession the same dangers are there. The loss of a parent’s job may not only affect the family’s immediate options, but it may affect a child’s future choices and opportunities.

Sources:
NY Times http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/12/us/12families.html?pagewanted=2&ref=education
Digital History
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/learning_history/children_depression/help_president.cfm