Poverty in Germany traced to childhood inequalities

Poverty remains the greatest risk for a child's development in Germany, according to a long-term study released on Tuesday. Social experts say more than 2.5 million children in Germany live in poverty.

The long-term study by AWO, a charity with links to trade unions, and Germany's ISS social educational institute tracked 900 children in diverse family settings over 15 years. It concludes that the determining factors are the parents' educational backgrounds, level of income and family structure.

While 51 percent of the children remained in long-term poverty, the study found that the expression "born poor, stay poor" did not always apply.

AWO chairman Wolfgang Stadler said better futures for children are possible when parents, kindergartens and schools cooperate.

"It depends on continual caregiving," Stadler said when presenting the study in Berlin on Tuesday.

One critical moment is whether the switch from kindergarten to primary school is poorly coordinated.

Better resourced youth and child services "must take more responsibility for childrens' development," Stadler said. "Only then can social justice and equality be produced."

The study also found that young adults living in single-parent families received less personal attention at home. In these cases, poorer children were found to be more self-sufficient.

In poorer families, 51 percent of parents believed that their children were old enough to care for themselves; that number was just 35 percent in families not trapped in poverty.