They still had plenty of ways to amuse themselves though. Most towns like Huddersfield had theatres and music halls, and many of the local churches held social events. Sports were popular – rugby, football, cycling – and the growth of the train network meant that it was much easier for people to travel.
What did kids do for fun in the Victorian era?
Board games such as Snakes and Ladders, Ludo and Draughts were popular indoor games. Outdoors, Victorian children played with toys like hoops, marbles and skipping ropes, with friends in the street, or in the school playground. They played chasing games such as Tag, Blind Man’s Bluff, and played catch with balls.
What was life like as a child in the Victorian times?
Life for Victorian children was very different from our lives today. Children in rich households had toys to play with and did not have to work, but children in poor households often had to work long hours in difficult, dangerous jobs. They didn’t have toys to play with but sometimes made their own.
What did the Victorians do in free time?
Sporting pastimes, such as cycling, rowing and horseracing were also popular, and large crowds would often attend sailing events like the Henley Regatta and famous horse races such as the Epsom Derby. One of the largest events of the Victorian calendar was the famous Great Exhibition, held in 1851.
What did Victorian children do at home?
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.
Did Victorian children have playtime?
Although most of the Victorian school child’s life could be considered rather dull, the bright light was playtime. Children would play with a wide variety of toys: hoops, tops, skipping ropes and marbles. There would be games of tag, British bulldog, hopscotch, and football, played with an inflated pig’s bladder!
What did kids do for 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.
What jobs did Victorian children have to do?
What other jobs did children do in Victorian times?
- Servant to a rich family.
- Chimney sweep.
- Work in the coal mines.
- Washing laundry.
- Crossing sweeper (swept in front of rich people walking in the street)
- Making and selling matches.
- Pottery making.
- Working at the shipyard.
How were Victorian kids treated?
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 age did Victorian children start work?
Research has shown that the average age at which children started work in early 19th-century Britain was 10 years old, but that this varied widely between regions. In industrial areas, children started work on average at eight and a half years old.
What did Victorian girls do for fun?
Music and singing formed a large part of the Victorian woman’s entertainment. Young ladies were expected to perform at social gatherings and music evenings, whilst having a piano in your home was seen as a status symbol.
What did poor Victorians do for fun?
Outdoor and Indoor Games
Many families played soccer, badminton, battledore and shuttlecock. Poor children kicked around a blown-up pig’s bladder. Families indoor played board games like Snakes and Ladders, Ludo and Draughts, and also card games. A popular card game was Happy Families.
What jobs did poor children Victorians have?
Children worked on farms, in homes as servants, and in factories. Children provided a variety of skills and would do jobs that were as varied as needing to be small and work as a scavenger in a cotton mill to having to push heavy coal trucks along tunnels in coal mines. There were so many different jobs!
What did Victorian children do at school?
The main subjects that children learned were Reading, Writing and Arithmetic (known as the 3 ‘R’s’). There was a huge emphasis on rote learning (learning off by heart). For example, children had to chant the times tables until they knew them.
What did Victorian school children do?
The most important lessons were the ‘three Rs’ – reading, writing and arithmetic (maths). Pupils had to chant things (the times-table facts, for example) out loud until they could do it without making a mistake. Victorian pupils also received lessons in history and geography. Some lessons were called ‘object lessons’.
Did Victorian children go to school?
In 1880, laws were enforced that meant every child between 5 to 10 had to go to school. For parents of large families who could barely afford enough food, paying a penny a week for their children to go to school was a great expense.
What games did kids play in 1800s?
Guessing games, word games, and board games were also played in the parlor. Some table games required a steady hand or quick wit to win. In other games, victory depended on the luck of the draw. Dominoes – Playing dominoes was a favorite pastime the late 1800s.
What did kids do on a daily basis in the 1800s?
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 did Victorian children do on Sunday?
Wealthy families could be very strict about what their children were, and were not, allowed to do. All amusements, as well as work, were forbidden. Even drawing and painting were often forbidden. Therefore reading was the main pastime on a Sunday afternoon.
What games did children play 100 years ago?
In celebration of the Easter Rising 1916, first class children have been learning ‘How children played 100 years ago’. We had fantastic fun playing games such as Queenie I-O, Hopscotch, Donkey, The Alley Alley-O and Skipping!
How did kids have fun in the past?
Children would share toys such as hoops, marbles and skipping ropes. Other games included tag and hopscotch – which are still played in schools and playgrounds today. In the 1930s, many families were too poor to afford manufactured toys, which meant children would have to find creative ways of making their own fun.