Essay On Child Labour During The Industrial Revolution

Words: 463
Pages: 2

During the industrial revolution, children were ideal workers for many roles in factories, mills and mines. This is what introduced child labour in Britain. Many began working at the ages of four or five, as families needed the extra income to be able to afford food and rent. They would work every day of the week, for ten to fourteen hours at a time, but were only paid 20% of the average wage of an adult. Although, many were paid in the form of vouchers to purchase goods, meaning the money from the vouchers would go back towards the company they worked for.
Most children would take up work in the mines, as labourers for the factories and mills, or working for the richest men on the streets. When working in the mines, a majority of the child labourers would be young boys. For children of the approximate ages of four to nine, they would work in the mines as trappers, where they would open and close the trap door
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There were a number of jobs they would be involved in, such as telegraphers, shoeshines and newspaper boys. Telegrapher boys were paid to carry messages between businesses in the streets. Shoeshine boys would set up chairs and shine the rich men’s shoes whilst they read the daily paper they received from the newspaper boys. A job as a newspaper boy required hours of standing and walking, and as the towns never slept, neither did they, as they labour was always wanted and needed.
The clip ‘The Industrial Revolution: A Boon to Industry, A Bane to Childhood’, created by Elaina Isabelle, the first six minutes provide all the suitable information on child labour during the Industrial Revolution. Though the last few minutes were unrelated to the aspect of child labour I am currently researching, it gives a great in-depth description of the new laws made and the demolition of child labour in Britain. This clip was informative, well set out, and easily