Consequences of Inadequate Habitability on Children

While the side effects of inadequate habitability conditions extend to every corner of a familial unit, the cost they inflict on the cognitive development of children can have imperceptible psychological consequences that permeate throughout the rest of their lives. People often overlook the impact a child’s residential environment can have on their neurological maturation, with the majority of reports usually focused on adults, but children remain a particularly vulnerable group due to the continuing development of their nervous systems.

Does lead threaten children?

Lead, in particular, poses a critical threat to children, with health experts from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry declaring that while extreme cases of high-lead exposure can lead to “...permanent brain damage and even death,” even low or moderate levels are sufficient to facilitate lasting psychological and physical harm, the side effects of which can include “problems with learning and reading, delayed growth, and hearing loss.” Additionally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention point out that exposure can occur insidiously through contact with lead-contaminated paint or ingestion of lead-contaminated water, making lead poisoning an even greater potential threat to a child’s health and development.

What does habitability mean for children?

While lead is an especially hazardous risk to the physical health of tenants and their families, general poor quality of housing can also hinder a child’s psychological growth, which, in its maturation stage, depends greatly on a mental formulation of how they should behave and what they should expect based on the perception of their surroundings. Children learn through their senses, which are all influenced by the physical circumstances of their residences. Housing Matters, an Urban Institute Initiative, documents how researchers have observed the development of children in relation to their housing conditions overtime, with their most notable takeaways being strong correlations between poor housing quality and the emergence of a number of psychological problems, some of which include emotional and behavioral issues, an inability to perform academically, anxiety and depression.

Home is the image of a sanctuary – a haven that is meant to symbolize comfort, security and happiness. In order to guarantee that home is remembered this way, interventions must be taken against inadequate habitability conditions on behalf of children, whose developing states put them at great risk for permanent psychological and physical harm.