Child Labor

Child Labor during the Industrial Revolution was brutal. Not only were children under paid, if paid at all; they were treated like animals. Plenty has changed over time since then, that has to do with child labor laws. Businesses now have so many requirements they have to meet when hiring minors. During the Industrial Revolution child labor was at an all time high. Children worked in factories very long hours for barely any money. They worked in extremely dangerous conditions. They were very useful in factories because they were small and nimble and able to reach in dangerous small places that adults couldn’t. They were forced to pass up an education. But during the 19th century, reformers worked hard to restrict child labor. It wasn’t until the great depression, that workers/adults were wanting children to stop working so they could have jobs. Child labor now is nothing like it was back then. Since then, they have came up with “child labor laws” used by all companies, and businesses in the US. Minors have restricted hours and can usually only work 4 hours shifts. There are laws that restrict child labor abuse in the US called FLSA. (Fair Labor Standards Act) They have lists of jobs too dangerous for minors to work. But during the Industrial Revolution, no job was too dangerous and children of all ages worked. The biggest impact child labor laws have had on children now days, is education. Children are allowed an education if not forced to have one. Businesses that hire minors are not allowed to restrict them from their education. Where as during the Revolution, kids were not allowed an education because they had to work to support their families. Many changes have been made in the US since the Industrial Revolution, but Child Labor is by far one of the biggest and most influenced. Child labor laws now restrict all the things that children had to do back then. It’s amazing how far we’ve come since then, and how quickly child labor was transformed.