Poor childhood takes lifelong toll, study shows

By Alfred Lubrano

Inquirer Staff Writer

Sebastian burped and gurgled on his mother's lap Monday morning, three months into his Philadelphia life.

Because his family is poor, he's unlikely to get the food, housing and living conditions he'll need for his brain to develop properly over the next three years.

The circumstances of his just-begun journey could turn him into a bad student, an ineffective worker, and a poor man for the rest of his days, according to a new study on the cumulative effects of a deprived early childhood.

"Hardship is a constant," said Sebastian's mother, Joanna Cruz, 25, a married, unemployed former Dunkin' Donuts worker from Grays Ferry. "It's not something you can tell someone who never lived it. This is how we struggle.".........

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