Being a child in Victorian times was not easy. Children had to work to support their family. Not only did they have to go to work, but they also had to attend school. Even in these harsh conditions they still had toys to play with. It was a very a hard life for children in Victorian England, but they still managed to have fun.
Some children did not survive in the harsh conditions because they had to work most of their life. In Victorian times most families had ten children, but sadly most children died as babies or young children because of the work they did. Most causes were from smallpox and diphtheria. Death killed many poor families. Children from poor families looked hungry and thin. They wore ragged clothes, and some children didn’t have shoes. Children from richer families were well fed and wore warm clothes and had shoes. Most children and parents worked most of their life just to get little the that they had. Children could earn little when working with their parents. Most poor children worked with their parents as servants, or they pushed heavy coal trucks along tunnels in the coal mines. Children only earned five shillings and on average parents earned about fifteen shillings.
School in Victorian times was difficult for families who couldn’t afford to go. Many families did not go. If they did go to school, their parents income went to their schooling. Rich girls would be taught by a governess. Boys would learn reading, writing, arithmetic, spelling, and drill. Boys would also learn woodwork, and technical drawing. Girls had lessons in cooking and sewing. Children who didn’t go to school worked with their family in fields or factories. Some girls would learn to cook and clean with their mothers.
Toys helped children get through these harsh times they lived in. In the 19th century toys went on sale that were factory made. Tin toys and clockwork toys also went on sale. Rich children had more toys to choose from, like train sets, doll houses, rocking horses, and tea sets. Most poor children’s toys were made of paper, wood, or metal. Most children rich, and poor, liked to play football or badminton. In some homes the parents wouldn’t let the children play with toys except Noah’s Ark, because it was in the Bible.
Most children had to spend their childhood working and going to school, only if they could afford it. Some children didn’t even survive these harsh conditions, but some managed to have fun with all the responsibilities they had. If you lived in Victorian England during these harsh times, do you think it would be easy to live?