What jobs did the children do in the Victorian times?

What jobs did the children do in the Victorian times?

What types of jobs did they do? Because they were considered cheap labor Victorian children were in high demand for many types of jobs including mining, factory work, street sweepers, clothing and hat makers, chimney sweeps, farming, textile mills, servants, and sadly, prostitution.

What did children do in the factory?

Children performed all sorts of jobs including working on machines in factories, selling newspapers on street corners, breaking up coal at the coal mines, and as chimney sweeps. Sometimes children were preferred to adults because they were small and could easily fit between machines and into small spaces.

What were the dangers of being a chimney sweep?

Work was dangerous and they could get jammed in the flue, suffocate or burn to death. As soot is carcinogenic, and as the boys slept under the soot sacks and were rarely washed, they were prone to chimney sweeps’ carcinoma.

Why did children work in factories in Victorian times?

Coal was the main source of power in Victorian times. It was used for cooking and heating, and for driving machinery, trains and steam ships. Until the 1840s, children as young as five worked down mines for up to 12 hours a day. There were several reasons as to why the children were employed to work in factories.

How old did children have to be to work in a factory?

OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) or anything faintly resembling an organization for safe working conditions did not exist.The Factory Act was established in 1833 disallowing children under the age of nine to work in factories. 5 to 9 year old Chimney sweeps would come out of a chimney covered from head to toe with soot.

What was life like for children in Victorian times?

Working Conditions of Victorian Children in Factories. They often worked in very dangerous conditions resulting in injuries or even death. Very young children were expected to work. There was no education for the poor, so it was very unlikely they could get better-paid jobs when they were older.

What did children do in the match factories?

In match factories, children were employed to dip matches into a dangerous chemical called phosphorous. The phosphorous could cause their teeth to rot and some died from the effect of breathing it into their lungs. Another job children could do better than adults was chimney sweeping.