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One out of every five children in the United States is growing up in a household where the family income is at or below the poverty threshold. The stress of poverty creates heighten parental stress, straining their capacity to provide warmth, understanding, and guidance for their children. The lack of an adequate income simply may not allow parents to focus their time and energies on parenting; rather, they are constantly struggling to survive. From an economic viewpoint, poverty inhibits parental ability to invest in their children's well-being. One aspect of parental investment in the well-being of their children concerns the child's health and their access to appropriate medical care, specifically receiving timely immunisations against known childhood diseases. This article investigates the immunisation status of poor, pre-school age children, within the context of parental altruism and investing in the well-being of the child. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]