SINGAPORE: Singaporeans who experienced poverty during their childhood came together in a heartfelt online thread after one user shared a striking memory—surviving on hash browns and green bean soup while growing up in a low-income household. The post struck a chord, prompting an emotional wave of responses from others who also grew up with limited means.
“For those who grew up poor, what’s your strongest memory?” the writer asked. “I will start. I wasn’t super poor, but there was a period of time I kept being fed hash browns and green bean soup because these were cheap when bought in bulk and easy to prepare for a large family.” He shared that up until this day, he still has a “visceral fear” of the two kinds of food.
The impact of growing up poor on the adult mind
According to Therapy Cincinnati, growing up in poverty can have a significant effect on a child’s brain development and mental health, which often shows up in different ways in adulthood. Childhood trauma revolving around being poor has a significant impact on an adult’s feelings, behaviour, and thoughts.
This seemed to be the case as many people took to the comments section of the post and shared their core memories around growing up poor. “Phobia of not having enough money,” one said. “Kept being told that my dad was going to lose his job soon, from when I was in secondary 2 till JC (but he didn’t lose his job [until] I was in my 20s), and as the eldest, I’d have to be sensible and help the family save money. I felt so much guilt taking pocket money and deprived myself of so many experiences that my peers had at that age.
“Not [until] I was a working adult, I told my friends this story and they were horrified because it’s not normal for parents to expect their kids to shoulder this burden, as what can a teenager do?
“But I was always wise beyond my years and hyper-independent because I grew up not being protected and went through a lot compared to people my age. Also influenced me to be child-free because I don’t want to subject my kid to such economic suffering.”
Many others chimed in with deeply personal and seemingly random memories—eating canned food so often as kids that they now can’t stand the taste, receiving hand-me-down toys from uncles, or watching their mothers quietly sacrifice by ordering just one meal when eating out. From the lighthearted to the heart-wrenching, these stories show how growing up poor leaves a lasting imprint and shapes different factors of adult life, from spending habits to resilience and the perception of sacrifice, discipline, and love.
Featured image by Freepik / chandlervid85 (for illustration purposes only)