Children growing up in low income families may be "learning to be poor" according to two studies published. Diminished expectations of what their parents can afford leads them to scale down their hopes and aspirations. As a result, the disadvantage may well be perpetuated and passed down the generations, the studies published by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation conclude. They come in the wake of a recent promise by Tony Blair, the prime minister of UK, to abolish child poverty - which he defined for a family living on less than half average earnings - over the next 20 years.