TREATMENT OF CHILDREN IN VICTORIAN ENGLAND

THE WORK THEY HAD TO DO

• They had to start working as 4 or 5
• Some of the jobs they had to do was mining, factory work, street sweepers
• Also they had to make clothing and hats
• Chimney sweeps, farming, textile mills, servants
• Sadly, some children were used as prostitutes

WORKING CONDITIONS

• During this era, the conditions that the children worked in were very rough
• Chimney sweepers were covered head to toe in soot
• The arms, legs and knees of the children bled
• Factory children had to work 14-18 hours per day
• Death was not uncommon for working Victorian children

HYGIENE

• Children could be ill with cholera when drinking water
• The streets where children often lived were filthy
• Children's lungs were often blackened due to pollution
• Children often had tuberculosis
• The mortality rate was very high during this time

EDUCATION

• The poor children were often uneducated
• The rich boys would go to school
• Rich girls were taught to be good wives
• The education act was passed because of this
• Schools were offered between age 5-13

LAWS/ACTS IN PLACE

• Several Factory Acts (1819-1878)
• Ten-Hour Movement (1844)
• The Coal Mines Act (1843)
• Keating-Owen Act (1916)
• Fair Labor Standards Act (1938)

CHILDREN-PARENT RELATIONSHIPS

• Winston Churchill could count the number of times he was hugged by his mother
• Rich kids rarely communicated with their parents, only during specific times
• Children were mostly raised by a nanny
• Sometimes the nanny was the only love they got
• Poor Victorian children were much closer due to living in tight quarters

STREET CHILDREN

• They were thieves
• Many street children were orphans
• Others came from alcoholic families
• Those children were often abused
• They were often forced into prostitution

CONDITIONS OF STREET CHILDREN

• Wore rags
• Did not wear shoes
• Usually wore hats
• Clothes were filthy

Works Cited
"Children in the Victorian Age." Children in the Victorian Age. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2014

Works Cited
"Victorian Children in a Victorian Times." Victorian Children RSS. N.p., n.d. Web 25 Feb 2014.