What was life like for a Victorian child?

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 the daily routine of a Victorian child?

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 was life like for a child in the 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's a Victorian era child?

During the Victorian Age (1837-1901) children had an unhappy life. They worked hard to help their parents because families were very poor. They were often forced to work as soon as they could walk. They worked in factories for twelve to sixteen hours a day, for six days a week.

Did Victorians love their children?

Wealthy Victorian Children

While the wealthy children may have been spoiled and had a much better life than the poor children, they also had what would seem to be a sad, redundant and affection-less existence. Children were mostly raised by a nanny who would teach the child what was proper and what was not.

Victorian child labour: all work and no play

How did Victorians treat children?

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 did Victorian children do for fun?

Children from rich families played with rocking horses, train sets, doll's houses and toy soldiers, whereas children from poor families tended to play with home-made toys such as peg dolls, spinning tops and skipping ropes. A popular toy during Victorian times was the thaumatrope.

How healthy were Victorian children?

Scarlet fever, tuberculosis, typhus and typhoid are now quite rare but were untreatable killers 150 years ago. Living in such terrible conditions meant that poor children were weak, malnourished and unable to fight off illness.

What did Victorian children call their parents?

The use of the terms "mum" and "dad" to refer to one's parents is a relatively recent development in the English language, dating back to the 19th century. Prior to this, it was more common to use formal titles such as "mother" and "father" or affectionate nicknames such as "mama" and "papa."

What was Victorian parenting like?

Victorian parents didn't shy away from the word “no” and they taught their children the difference between right and wrong, true and false. Parents were encouraged not to lavish them with affection, spoil them or give in to them.

How did kids have fun in the 1800s?

For fun, children would make rag dolls and corn husk dolls to play with, wrap rocks in yarn to make balls, and even use vines or seaweed strips for jump ropes. They played games such as hide-and-seek and tug-of-war. Foot races, hopscotch, marbles, and spinning tops were also popular.

Did Victorian children have weak immune systems?

Victorian children already had weakened immune systems, so consuming something that contains a lot of chemicals would worsen their condition. Prolonged consumption of modern-day food would surely lead to major health issues if not death.

What did rich Victorian children wear?

Both boys and girls wore long dresses. The richer you were, the longer the skirt! As the baby got older, his hem would be shortened to encourage crawling. Baby William also has several bonnets, a crocheted belly band, a crocheted bib, and two sets of booties.

What time did Victorian children go to bed?

In the Victorian era the public would typically fall asleep at 7pm when the sun disappeared, however this dramatically moved to 10pm in the Edwardian era, finally settling at 12pm in the modern age. Although our bedtime has become later throughout the years, we've continued to wake up around a similar time.

What was it like for a poor Victorian child?

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.

How did life change for Victorian children?

But with the increased demand for work during the Victorian era and industrial revolution came more and more demanding roles for children to fulfill. Many were used as cheap labour. Working long hours, children were often treated badly. Children started work as young as four or five years old.

How many children did a normal Victorian have?

Answer and Explanation: On average, a Victorian family was expected to have 5-6 children. However, it's worth noting that these numbers were more common in the mid-19th century.

What happened to unmarried mothers and their babies in Victorian England?

One institutional option available to these vulnerable mothers was the London Foundling Hospital (orphanage). The LFH aspired to be respectable, and as the demand for illegitimate child care exceeded the supply, the directors – all men – could select whose babies they chose to shelter and whose they rejected.

What did Victorian mothers do?

In the Victorian era, women were seen, by the middle classes at least, as belonging to the domestic sphere, and this stereotype required them to provide their children and husbands with a clean home, compelled them to prepare meals, and forced mothers to raise their children.

What was the worst disease in Victorian times?

Infectious diseases were the greatest cause of Victorian mortality. Most of these, such as smallpox, tuberculosis and influenza, were old scourges, but in 1831 Britain suffered its first epidemic of cholera.

How did Victorians feed babies?

There were three options available to Victorian mothers: maternal breastfeeding, wet nursing (the employment of another woman to breastfeed the baby), and “hand” (bottle or spoon) feeding.

What would Victorian children eat?

In the Victorian Era, children from wealthy families often ate a diet consisting of bread, meat, vegetables, and fruit. Of course it depended on the class. They did not have our idea of a balanced meal. Vitamins were discovered in the 20th century and the concept of a balanced meal comes from rationing in WWII.

How were Victorian children taught?

History of Victorian Schooling

Teaching was mainly by rote, with children learning things by simply repeating and memorizing what was said by their teachers. There was little room for creativity or developing talents; an emphasis was placed on learning to read and write. (The Victorian School).

What toys did Victorian children have?

Girls usually played with dolls, dolls houses and tea sets. Boys usually played with toy trains, boats, soldiers and marbles. In many homes, the only toy children were allowed to play with on a Sunday was Noah's Ark, because it related to the Bible.

What toys did rich Victorian children 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.