VICTORIAN LABOUR AND WORK first year class or second year

What jobs did children do?

Children worked on farms, in homes as servants, and in factories. Children often did jobs that required small size and nimble fingers. But they also pushed heavy coal trucks along tunnels in coal mines. Boys went to sea, as boy-sailors, and girls went 'into service' as housemaids. Children worked on city streets, selling things such as flowers, matches and ribbons. Crossing boys swept the roads clean of horse-dung and rubbish left by the horses that pulled carts and carriages.What were Victorian factories like?

Britain was the first country in the world to have lots of factories. Factory machines made all kinds of things. Machines did jobs, such as spinning, previously been done by families at home.
Factories were noisy. People had to shout above the rattle and hiss of machinery. They breathed air full of dust, oil and soot. Iron and steel works got so hot that workers dripped with sweat. Flames and sparks lit up the sky darkened by smoke from factory chimneys.Victorian England wasn't that 'hot' on rules of labour concerning children: typically, they were employed in the cotton mills to run beneath the moving machinery and collect waste

What were cotton mills?

Cotton mills were factories where cotton was spun into thread. In woollen mills, wool was spun in a similar way. Weaving machines turned the thread into textiles, such as cloth and carpets. In Victorian Britain, the cotton and wool industries employed thousands of workers, mostly in the north of England. Mill workers lived in small houses close to the factories.

Cotton is a natural material that comes from cotton plants which grow in hot countries like India. It is a soft, white fibre that that is used to make clothes because is: cheaper, more comfortable to wear and easier to wash than wool. Originally, cotton fibres were twisted together with a wooden spinning wheel to form threads of yarn which were then woven together to make cloth using a device called a loom. Families often farmed land during the day and then made cloth at home in the evening. The women would do the spinning, whilst the men would do the weaving. It was called a 'cottageindustry' industry'. Early cotton mills were built near to rivers and used large water wheels to power the machines inside them. In 1781, Sir Richard Arkwright opened the world's first steam-powered textile mill on Miller Street in Manchester. When Boulton and Watt developed a more efficient steam engine in 1783, the textile industry grew rapidly. Textiles like cloth and carpets could be produced quickly and sold across the world. Lancashire's damp climate made it perfect for keeping cotton yarns moist and unlikely to break so it became the centre of the industrial revolution in Britain. Lots of people moved away from the countryside to work in the mills. Manchester had 108 mills by 1853 and it became known as 'Cottonopolis'. The Bridgewater Canal, connecting Manchester with the port of Liverpool, was built to move large amounts of raw cotton and finished cloths around. The mills were hot and dusty places so they were hard to breathe in. People had to shout above the rattle and hiss of machinery, which were deafeningly noisy. Women were employed to do the spinning and weaving and the men would oversee them to make sure they did not break the rules or fall asleep. Small children called 'scavengers' were used for cleaning out machinery whilst they were running so it was very dangerous. Many lost fingers and some were killed. Wages were low and people worked for up to 12 hours a day in the mills because their owners wanted to make as much money as possible. Streets of small, cheap houses were built nearby. People walked to work early in the morning and walked back at night. Often, whole families shared a single room. They suffered from bad health because they could not afford: good food, warm clothes or medicines.

Why was factory work dangerous?

Factory owners employed children because they were cheap, did not complain, had nimble fingers, and could crawl about under machines.
Small girls worked in mills as 'piecers'. They mended broken threads. 'Scavengers' crawled beneath clattering machines to pick up scraps of cotton. They risked getting caught in the machinery, losing hair or arms. Yet most mill-owners thought factory work was easy. At first, there were no laws to protect working children.

Rich and poor families

In Victorian times, many families had 10 or more children. Sadly, many children died as babies, or from diseases such as smallpox and diphtheria. Child-death struck rich and poor families.
In a Victorian town, it was easy to tell who was rich and who was poor. Children from richer homes were well fed, wore warm clothes and had shoes on their feet. They did not work, but went to school or had lessons at home.
Poor children looked thin and hungry, wore ragged clothes, and some had no shoes. Poor children had to work. They were lucky if they went to school.

Why did children go to work?

Many Victorian children were poor and worked to help their families. Few people thought this strange or cruel. Families got no money unless they worked, and most people thought work was good for children. The Industrial Revolution created new jobs, in factories and mines. Many of these jobs were at first done by children, because children were cheap - a child was paid less than adults (just a few pennies for a week's work).

New laws to protect children

People called reformers, such as Lord Shaftesbury (1801-1885), argued in Parliament for laws to stop child-work. Inspectors, called Commissioners, went into factories and mines. They talked to working children to find out the facts. These are three of the new laws passed by Parliament.
1841 Mines Act - No child under the age of 10 to work underground in a coal mine.
1847 Ten Hour Act - No child to work more than 10 hours in a day.
1874 Factory Act - No child under the age of 10 to be employed in a factory

VICTORIAN CHILDREN first year

Who went to school?

At the start of the 19th century very few children went to school. Most poor children worked. If they went to school, their families lost the money they earned.

There were some good schools for boys, for example, grammar schools and public schools. Only richer families could afford to pay the school fees, though some schools gave free places to poor boys. Poor girls did not go to school when the Victorian age began meaning they had little education. Girls from wealthy families would usually be taught at home by a governess. Sometimes, wealthy girls may have attended boarding schools too.

Where did Victorian children play?

Although many children worked in Victorian times, they still had time to play.

Outdoors, most Victorian children played in the street or in the fields and woods. Not many families had gardens big enough to play in, and there were no children's playgrounds. Rich families had playrooms or nurseries, but poorer children played wherever they could find space. With ten or more children often crammed into one or two rooms, play-space for poor families was a luxury. Playing outside was the usual escape.

 

Street fun

In street games, children shared toys like hoops, marbles and skipping ropes, with friends in the street, or in the school playground. They played chasing games such as tag and played catch with balls. If they hadn't got a proper ball, they made balls from old rags, and bats from pieces of wood. They also played hopscotch. Victorian children were able to play out in the street as there was less traffic than today. There were no cars until the 1880s. They crowded around street musicians, wheeling a barrel organ, which played tunes when the handle was turned.

Sometimes barrel organ players had a monkey with them.

Books for children

Victorian children were often given books with improving moral lessons, about characters with names like Lazy Lawrence and Simple Susan. A favourite story was Charles Kingsley's The Water Babies about a badly treated chimney-boy. There were lots of books written specially for children, such as Treasure Island (about pirates) by R L Stevenson and Black Beauty (about a horse) by Anna Sewell. Perhaps the most famous Victorian children's book is Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) written by Lewis Carroll.

Children's games

Children played outdoor chasing games such as tag (which had lots of other names, such as touch or tig), and others like Tom Tiddler's Ground, where one player (Tom) tries to catch anyone trespassing on his or her ground, shown by a line. They also played a version of musical chairs, using cushions or old rags to sit on. At Easter, children played 'Egg-Shackling'. In this game, everyone put an egg with their name on in a basket or sieve, which was shaken until the eggs broke. The last egg left unbroken won.

Herbs to cure children

SAGE for fever and sore throat, twice a day , make a tea and gargle with it

BORAGE  use in a salad when a child has a fever this will reduce it

GINGER  make a pulp and give to child on a spoon , twice a day. Helps to reduce all aches , especially good for headaches,Should be taken every day twice a day. A wonder herb.

ROSEMARY  one teaspoon to 250 ml of cold water slowly bring to boil and then simmer . drink one cup each morning and afternoon, to be used after any fever

LAVENDER to treat sore throats , make a tea then drink

CHICORY stomach pains ,250ml in water bring to boil  then simmer 3 minutes , a child can drink 2 cups a day to soothe stomach

TUMERIC An antimicrobial property.  turmeric was a medicine for a range of diseases and conditions, including those of the skin, pulmonary, and gastrointestinal systems, aches, pains, wounds, sprains, and liver disorders. A fresh juice is commonly used in many skin conditions, including eczema, chicken pox, shingles, allergy, and scabies.
Manjal Pal (turmeric milk) is warm milk mixed with some turmeric powder. It is commonly used in Tamilnadu as a home remedy when someone is suffering from fever.
Turmeric paste is often used in Tamilnadu as an antiseptic in open wounds, while chun-holud (turmeric with slaked lime) is used to stop bleeding as home remedies.
The active compound curcumin is believed to have a wide range of biological effects including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antitumour, antibacterial, and antiviral activities, which indicate potential in clinical medicine. In Chinese medicine, it is used for treatment of various infections and as an antiseptic.Highly reccomended for children as a prevention of fever and as a cure before anti biotics.

HEALTH FOR CHILDREN

Here are my ideas on what is best for young children and young people to do to avoid illness, its good for adults too.


1.Little red meat , don't let your child eat lots of red meat its not good .Never buy red meat from supermarkets unless it is totally organic.Buy red meat that has come from animals that live free in fields.

2.Honey. Its a wonder food , use this always instead of sugar.

3.garlic capsules, one a day Another wonder food . It staves off fever and is brilliant for the body

4. Tumeric, a wonder food. You can use it on a spoon or in a curry.

5.Lots of green food or food that is black. Mix green veg with wholemeal pasta

6.No white pasta or white bread, cuts the immune system and is radio active in Italy as it is grown in North America.

7.Real organic Milk if you can find it. Ordinary milk is full of bad elements from sick overbloated animals

8.Nuts of all kinds

9.Lots of fruit, Kiwis are the best.Mix Kiwi and orange with organic ice cream for children, twice a day.

10.Make sure she has enough Iron, serve asparagus three times a week, mix with poached eggs (buy a poacher in the Uk) or wholemeal pasta

11.Avoid Tuna, it could easily be radio active.Tuna swims thousands of miles and no one knows if they pass through the radio active waters of Japan, no checks are done.

12.If she can eat raw onions then this is brilliant to stop fever. The stronger the onion the better,is also against cancer.

13.Wash hands all the time . Very important against fever. Wash the private parts too during a fever.

14. Fever is a competition between positive micro organisms and negative ones. The positive are on our skin so use ordinary soap when washing hands not really strong disinfectant.

15.Fruit rich in Vit C

16. Try to keep mouth closed in crowded places, fever enters the mouth

17.INULINE=garlic, onions, Artichoke,leeks (porro). Inuline stops the stomach becoming a source for other fevers as it is pro biotic.very important

18. Baked Beans instead of some meat courses, put beans on buttered toast , kids like this.

19.Peas and Soya beans, these are very important. Peas and Soya carry things in them that are vital to the body.

20. People get fever in Winter because people tend to crowd into places to keep warm. When I was in the army we were out all night, sleeping rough, sometimes 20 below zero but no one ever got a fever. Fever comes from people , from people all breathing the same air.

21. I got a slight fever in London at Christmas as I was working out every day.One night I came home bathed in heavy sweat and sat down instead of going straight up for a shower as there was a good programme on TV. The next day I had a slight fever so always dry down a child who has been sweating.

I will next show a variety of herbs for stopping fever in Children