How Did Child Labor Occur During The Industrial Revolution

Child labor was one of the biggest problems in the industrial revolution because it put children in danger. Some of the jobs children were expected to do were: chimney sweeping, working in factories, and working in coal mines, all of which are dangerous. While working, children rarely had breaks and couldn’t go outside at all. There was almost always someone watching them- unless they were in the mines- ready to dock their pay or even beat them if they made a mistake. This shows how desperate children were to survive. Child labor started in the early 1800’s, and in many families all the family members had to work to survive, including the children.Adults realized that child labor was very efficient because they were smaller and could work with little pay. Almost all children in the Victorian Era had to endure terrible condition just to help their
Some of the types of factories children worked in were cotton mills, iron and textile factories, and match factories. The work in factories were very dangerous. The machines in the factories were not equipped to shut down in case of an accident. In the cotton mills and textile factories young children called scavengers would have have to crawl under the machine (while it was running) to get loose pieces of thread. Older children called piecers would have to clean the machines while they were running. It was very easy for one of their limbs to get caught in the machine. This shows how adults very willingly put children into dangerous situations.
Another terrible job children were forced to do was work in coal mines. Children called trappers had to open and close the wooden doors that the coal cart went through. Another job was pushing the carts of coal to the bottom of the pit, which was called being a hurrier. Children also could be Getters, cutting coal with a pickaxe. It was an incredibly dangerous job, with the risk of cave-ins, rock falls, and explosions always