CHILDREN IN VICTORIAN TIMES

During the Industrial Revolution, women, men, and also children worked in factories and coal mines. In Victorian times, the coal was very important in the industry, and the children were exploited. They pushed trucks of coal along mine tunnels wherefore they were called 'putters'. Many children started work at 2 in the morning and stayed below ground for 18 hours.

This children, mostly poor, couldn´t go to the school, because their families couldn´t pay it. Only rich children went to the school and learnt. But fortunately , by 1880, the law said that all children aged 5 to 10 must go to primary school, so every child would receive at least a basic education.

Many Victorian children were poor and worked to help their families. Families got no money so they must work. The Industrial Revolution created new jobs, in factories and mines. Many of these jobs were at first done by children, because children were cheaper than adults.