Working Children
adapted for Primary yr6 ESL pupils from
Victorian Working Children
If you were from a poor family you worked and worked and worked .......
• Children worked very long hours with little breaks and no fresh air.
• They often worked in very dangerous places and sometimes died.
• Very young children worked.
• There was no education for the poor, so it was difficult to get better jobs when they were older.
• Children were paid very little.
What kind of jobs did children do?
The lucky children became apprentices in a trade.
Other children worked on farms, in factories, in coal mines and on the streets.
Chimney sweeps
Chimney sweeping was a job that children did better than adults.
Small boys (starting at the age of 5 or 6 years) went up the chimney to clean the soot. They came down with bleeding elbows and knees.
The chimneys were usually very narrow (sometimes as small as 30cm). Children often got stuck and died of suffocation.
"I never got stuck myself but some of my friends have and were taken out dead." boy aged 8
In 1832, using boys for sweeping chimneys was stopped.
Factories
Children worked long hours and sometimes did dangerous jobs.
"I start work at 5:00 in the morning and work all day till 9:00 at night. That’s 16 hours! We can't talk, sit or look out of the window when we work. The only day off is on Sunday, when we have to go to church." Girl aged 9
Children cleaned the machines when the machines were running, and there were lots of accidents. Many children lost fingers and some died when they were crushed by the big machinery.
In match factories children dipped matches into a dangerous chemical called phosphorous. It made their teeth rot and some died from inhaling it.
Street Children
Thousands of poor children worked and lived on the streets. Many were orphans. They worked very long hours for very little money. To buy bread, they sold matches, firewood, buttons, flowers or bootlaces, they polished shoes, ran errands and swept the crossing places where rich people crossed the busy roads.
Coal Mines
Children as young as 5 years old worked in coal mines. They worked for up to 12 hours a day.
Trappers
Trappers opened and closed the air doors for ventilation.. They sat in cold, wet places and were very scared, with little or no light for 12 hours a day.
"I sit in the dark for 12 hours a day. I only see daylight on Sundays when I don't work. Once I fell asleep and a wagon ran over my leg" Boy aged 7
"I hate the dark, it scares me. I never go to sleep. Sometimes I sing, there is nothing to do. I just open and close the door." Girl aged 8
Drawers
Drawers pulled heavy carts of coal with heavy chains around their waists.
" I am a drawer, and work from six o'clock in the morning to six at night. I stop for an hour at 12.00 to eat my dinner: I have bread and butter for dinner; I get no drink.
I have a belt round my waist, and a chain passing between my legs, and I go on my hands and feet. The tunnels are narrow and very wet where I work. My clothes are wet almost all day.."
Girl aged 10
Dangers in a coal mine
The coal mines were dangerous places. Here are some examples of how children died working in coal mines:
• A trapper, only 7 years old killed in an explosion.
• A horse driver aged 11. Crushed by horse.
• A trapper aged 12. Crushed by wagons.
• A driver aged 12. Horse fell on him.
• A bank boy aged 11. Caught by cage.
• A trapper aged 13. Head crushed by a cage.
• Tub Cleaner, aged 13. Fell into a working engine.
• Trapper, aged 9. Killed in an explosion.
When did children stop working in the mines?
1842, children under the age of 10 stopped working in coal mines
Why were children used to work in factories?
• Children were cheaper than adults
• There were lots of children in orphanages, so they were easy to replace when accidents occurred.
• Children were small and could fit into small places.
Victorian Working Children
Questions:
1. What age did children start working?
2. How many hours did they normally work each day?
3. Did they have a day off?
4. Name two jobs that street children did?
5. How many meals did they get each day?
6. When did children stop working in coal mines?
7. What jobs do you do to help your family?
Victorian WrkChildren EP6 -ESL7 -14
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