We all complain from time to time that we do not have all the things we want or need. But imagine if you did not have enough food to eat, no games to play with and not even a bed of your own to sleep in? Poor children living in Britain in the 19th century would have had very little to call their own, and virtually no way of improving their lives.
The homes of the poor were small, cold and damp and often infested with lice and vermin. Water would be collected from a dirty pump in the street and filthy outdoor toilets would be shared with dozens of neighbours. Stoves were new and expensive, so many homes didn’t have any way of making hot meals. A poor person’s daily diet would have been made up of mostly bread, cheese and potatoes.
Dirty and overcrowded, the city’s slums were the perfect breeding ground for many types of untreatable diseases. Death came early and fast to the poor and it would be rare to find a child who hadn’t suffered the death of a sibling or parent. With no one to look after them, orphaned children had no choice but to try and survive alone. Thousands of street children slept where they could; in doorways, damp cellars or on the streets alongside criminals, disease-carrying rats and open sewers. Starving, dirty, cold and weak, these ‘gutter-waifs’ had no-one to look after them and little hope of survival. With only filthy water to drink, dirty, smoke-filled air from nearby factories to breathe and scraps of bad food to eat, it was no surprise that many children fell ill and died.
The only place for poor children to play was on the street. Without expensive toys like bicycles or dolls to play with, their games were simple and often meant making best use of what they could find.
It was widely believed by the wealthiest Victorians that the poor only had themselves to blame for their pitiful existence and should not be helped. The very poor were treated like criminals, with nowhere else to go when they could no longer look after themselves but the workhouse. Feared by all, the workhouse was run like a prison, with strict rules and long days of hard labour. Eventually, attitudes towards the poor began to change and charitable groups and social reformers built homes, schools and orphanages for destitute children. For the lucky few at least, there was now somewhere safe to sleep, eat, get cleaned up and learn to read and write.
FAQs
With no laws to protect children, this meant they had few rights and were badly treated. Seen as simply the property of their parents, many children were abandoned, abused and even bought and sold. Thought to be born evil, children needed to be corrected, punished and made to become good citizens.
What was it like for children living in Victorian Britain? ›
Children worked on farms, in homes as servants, and in factories. Children provided a variety of skills and would do jobs that were as varied as needing to be small and work as a scavenger in a cotton mill to having to push heavy coal trucks along tunnels in coal mines. There were so many different jobs!
What was schooling like for children in Victorian England? ›
There was a huge emphasis on rote learning (learning off by heart). For example, children had to chant the times tables until they knew them. Boys and girls were segregated for some subjects: girls would study needlework while boys studied woodwork. Children used a slate to write on, which could be wiped clean.
What activities did Victorian children do? ›
Board games such as Snakes and Ladders, Ludo and Draughts were popular indoor games. Outdoors, Victorian children played with toys like hoops, marbles and skipping ropes, with friends in the street, or in the school playground. They played chasing games such as Tag, Blind Man's Bluff, and played catch with balls.
What was life like for a child in 1800? ›
Life in the 1800s
Before the Victorian era, children as young as 6 or 8 years old might work in a mill or factory, they might run errands and make deliveries for a store keeper, they may be apprenticed to a skilled craftsman or woman, or they could be hired out as a servant.
What was life like at home for the Victorian child? ›
Life for Victorian children was very different from our lives today. Children in rich households had toys to play with and did not have to work, but children in poor households often had to work long hours in difficult, dangerous jobs. They didn't have toys to play with but sometimes made their own.
What was life like for a poor child in Victorian times? ›
The homes of the poor were small, cold and damp and often infested with lice and vermin. Water would be collected from a dirty pump in the street and filthy outdoor toilets would be shared with dozens of neighbours. Stoves were new and expensive, so many homes didn't have any way of making hot meals.
What toys did rich Victorians have? ›
Toys such as rocking horses, dolls' houses and Noah's Arks were only for the wealthy, and many toys such as expensively dressed dolls were so expensive and precious that their young owners were never allowed to play with them.
How were the orphans treated in the Victorian era? ›
Explanation: During the Victorian era, orphans in workhouses were often subjected to harsh and grim conditions. These workhouses were institutions established to provide relief to the poor, but they often turned into places of hardship and suffering.
What age do kids start school in Victoria? ›
The law in Victoria states that children must attend school from the age of 6. To enrol in government school, a child must turn 5 before 30 April of the year they start school. There can be exemptions to the age policy, but these are very rare.
Poor children often had to work instead of going to school. Many worked with their parents at home or in workshops, making matchboxes or sewing. Children could also earn a bit of money as chimney-sweeps, messengers or crossing sweepers like the boy in this picture.
What did Victorian children do in their free time? ›
Although rich Victorian children would have had plenty of toys in their nurseries, children from poorer families would have had very few. They were often hand-made and children would share toys like marbles, whip and tops, skipping ropes and dolls with their brothers and sisters and friends.
What did rich Victorian children do? ›
Rich children would be given lessons at home like painting, counting or playing the piano. They also wore more expensive clothes that made them look like miniature adults. Girls weren't encouraged to go to school and were usually educated at home by a governess.
What were the chores of the Victorian children? ›
What other jobs did children do in Victorian times?
- Servant to a rich family.
- Chimney sweep.
- Work in the coal mines.
- Washing laundry.
- Crossing sweeper (swept in front of rich people walking in the street)
- Making and selling matches.
- Pottery making.
- Working at the shipyard.
Small children, even as young as 4 or 5 years old, had chores such as keeping the fire going, fetching water, and caring for livestock. Even families who lived in towns often owned chickens or horses. Children were responsible for feeding the animals and keeping them from eating the garden.
How were the poor treated in Victorian England? ›
For the first half of the 19th century the rural and urban poor had much in common: unsanitary and overcrowded housing, low wages, poor diet, insecure employment and the dreaded effects of sickness and old age.
How did life change for Victorian children? ›
In 1880, a law was passed that made school compulsory for all children between the ages of five and ten. In 1889, the school leaving age was extended to 12. This gave all children access to free education and also helped to end child labour in factories. Rules in Victorian schools were strict.
What were the punishments for children in the Victorian times? ›
Some children who misbehaved were placed in 'Solitary confinement', locked in a room on their own. Tough reformatory schools were set up for children who had committed a minor crime, like theft, so that they could get a better life. Boys were taught how to use machines, while girls were taught how to cook and clean.
How did Victorians raise their children? ›
Children were mostly raised by a nanny who would teach the child what was proper and what was not. Day to day living was nothing more than a lonely monotonous routine and very formal. Wealthy Victorian Children rarely communicated with their parents except for a specified time each day.
