Child labor in Victorian England was a controversial issue that affected both the upper and lower classes. Child laborers were often stripped of their right to an education and childhood, and it is because of this exploitation that we see such a strong reaction in the works of Charles Dickens and other Victorian-era authors. The child labor taking place in Child Labor during Victorian England was a direct result of the Industrial Revolution.
Child laborers were forced to work in poor conditions and long hours, for little to no pay at all. As seen throughout Victorian literature, Child Labor was a major issue that affected the whole nation and not just those by what it was doing to children. Child labor is defined as “work done by children who are below minimum age or who do not have a certificate. ” Child Labor took place almost exclusively among boys and young men, because the work they did was considered too dangerous for girls and young women.
Child Labor during Victorian England involved such jobs as chimney cleaning, mining, prostitution, factory work (specifically textile factories), street selling (selling newspapers or), agriculture, piece work (piece work refers to any job in which the worker is paid by the finished product), and service (working as an errand boy or a waiting maid). Child Labor during Victorian England was sometimes enforced through Child Laws, which required all children under a certain age to work. Child laws were often set up in English cities so that children would have money for food and clothing, but also so that they could learn a trade.
Many of these Child Laws were eventually repealed due to protests from people who did not want their children working in such harsh conditions. It was not just Child Labor during Victorian England that child laborers struggled with; they also dealt with poor living conditions and little pay. Child laborers worked long hours, usually 12 hours a day every day of the week, and they were lucky to earn a penny a day. Child labor during Victorian England was not regulated at all, so children as young as five could be found working from sunrise to sunset six days a week.
Child laborers were often required to work in hazardous conditions without older workers present who knew the dangers involved. Child laborers rarely had access to clean water or fresh air, and because of this, many suffered from respiratory illnesses that led to death. In addition, Child Labor during Victorian England made it extremely difficult for child laborers to obtain an education. Child labor took up seven years of a child’s life on average; if these same children worked eight hour days instead of twelve hours a day they would have been able to attend school for three hours each day.
Child laborers were not given the opportunity to attend school or play like most children their age, and because of this they often became socially isolated. Child Labor during Victorian England made it possible for the poor conditions in Child Labor to pervade all areas of children’s lives, even after they left Child Labor behind. Child Labor during Victorian England was incredibly controversial; many people believed that Child Laws should be upheld while others thought that Child Laws should be repealed due to exploitation by factory owners.
Many writers saw Child Labor as a major problem that needed addressing in novels written during Victorian times including Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy, Elizabeth Gaskell, George Eliot, Charlotte Bronte, Louisa May Alcott and Margaret Oliphant. The works of these writers were influential to Child Labor activism as well as Child Laws. Child Labor during Victorian England is still a major issue today, though Child Laws may have been repealed here and there since the 1800s. Child Labor during Victorian England was not just an issue of Child Laws; it was also very important in regards to Child Poverty and Child Wellbeing.
Child Laborers often grew up poor and were never given the opportunity to attend school, so they had very little opportunities for success in life. The labor of children made it possible for people to buy cheaper goods that they could then resell at a profit or afford larger houses that required less work from them (large companies also use child labor). Child Labor had many negative effects on society yet Child Poverty and Child Wellbeing were among the most important issues in Child Labor during Victorian England.
The purpose of Child Laws was to teach children a trade while they worked, but because these laws forced all children under the age of nine (and sometimes older) to work, Child Labor interfered with Child Learning and Child Personal Development. Working twelve hours a day left very little time for education or play; Child laborers spent more time working than doing anything else. These long hours meant that if child labor wasn’t stopped it would be difficult for later generations to break out of poverty.
The reality is that even if child laws had been repealed entirely, Child Poverty could still have been an issue as many adults had already up poor and this trend continued into Child Labor during Victorian England. Child Poverty was a leading cause of Child Death as well as Child Wellbeing, so the abolishment of Child Labor could have played a role in Child Wellbeing too. Child poverty has always been an issue during Child Labor; one way to abolish Child Labor is to abolish Child Poverty which means addressing issues like unemployment and low wages.
The need for Child Employment is not much different now then it was during Victorian England; children are still needed to help support their families without having to take up adult jobs that require more responsibility than they can offer at such a young age. While abolishing Child Laws might be difficult, many modern activists share similar goals with early activists who wanted to abolish child labor through education rather than legislation (or the lack thereof).
Child Learning and Child Personal Development could be improved upon by promoting Child Rights and Child Welfare, as well as taking Child Health into consideration. Many people believed that Child Labor during Victorian England was a problem because children were often forced to work long hours at dangerous jobs without pay and with little reward besides food and meager shelter. Child labor also interfered with Child learning and personal development as child laborers spent more time working than they did doing anything else.
For many authors, especially those whose works were published in Charles Dickens’ journals Household Words or “All the Year Round”, Child Labor became a major social issue which resulted in character studies of impoverished individuals who experience hard labor from a young age. There are still issues regarding child labor today as Child poverty can be very difficult to abolish. Child Labor during Victorian England is portrayed as one of the major issues which led to Child Poverty and Child Wellbeing.
Child well-being may have improved without Child Labor, but many children were forced into Child Labor because their families could not survive otherwise; this means that there would still be Child Poverty and The need for Child Employment. There are many modern activists who share similar goals with early activists who wanted to abolish child labor through education rather than legislation (or lack thereof). Many believe that abolishing child laws would lead to advancements in Child Learning and Personal Development as well as improving Child Rights, Child Welfare, and Child Health.
