It is not a measure of overall inequality in the society, it is a measure of how the poorest are faring in relation to those in the middle. But this is a problem not so much in the concept as in its communication. It can and should be addressed by sticking strictly to the term ‘relative child poverty’ when that is what is meant. To say that ‘relative child poverty levels’ are higher risks no such misunderstanding, there is nothing either misleading or meaningless about the statement that a greater proportion of children are allowed to fall significantly below the norms of their societies in the United States than in the Czech Republic.