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.
What was life like for a Victorian child?
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.
How were Victorian children expected to behave?
Leading a good, Christian life would involve being honest, obedient, charitable and kind, regularly worshipping in church and doing good deeds. Children would have been well aware that they were expected to obey God, their parents, teachers, betters, elders, as well as being a loyal subject of Queen Victoria!
Did Victorians love their children?
Parents Didn’t Show Affection
Victorian parents were not known for showing affection. In fact, they believed even minimal amounts of affection would spoil a child. Victorian parents were encouraged to never kiss or hug their children, only a peck on the forehead before bed if they really couldn’t help themselves.
What did Victorian children do for fun?
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.
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 was life like for girls in the Victorian era?
Victorians believed that a woman’s proper and only place was to be within a household environment. The women were expected to marry, have children, and keep a nice household. Those were the only acceptable roles for women during that era.
How was life different for Victorian children?
Victorian children did not have as many toys and clothes as children do today and many of them were homemade. What work did Victorian children do? In the 1850s one in nine girls over the age of 10 worked as domestic servants for wealthy homes. Poor children often had to work instead of going to school.
What was considered rude in the Victorian era?
Never eat very fast. Never fill the mouth very full. Never open your mouth when chewing. Never make noise with the mouth or throat.
How many hours did Victorian children work?
Many children worked 16 hour days under atrocious conditions, as their elders did. Ineffective parliamentary acts to regulate the work of workhouse children in factories and cotton mills to 12 hours per day had been passed as early as 1802 and 1819.
How did Victorian parents punish their kids?
Although most did not physically strike their children, they did resort to other forms of punishment such as locking the child in a closet, sending them to their room or having their allowance taken away.
Did people kiss in the Victorian era?
Was there any kissing going on? In the Victorian era, abstaining from any physical show of affection when in public was regarded as the only way to be, really. Kissing in front of others was deemed vulgar and unacceptable, even for those with lower standing in the community.
When did Victorians 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.
Did Victorian children have teddy bears?
If you browse through turn-of-the-century newspapers around December, or seasonal catalogs, you could find many kinds of toys – bicycles, dolls, wagons, toy trains, teddy bears, rocking horses, games, children’s books, and more.
What were Victorians obsessed with?
The Victorians are known for their prudish and repressed behavior. But few are aware of their almost fanatical obsession with death. And no one was more fixated than the era’s namesake, Queen Victoria, ruler of England from 1837 to 1901.
How did Victorians date flirt?
19th-century Americans used cheeky cards to stretch social convention and find romance. Say you’re a high society lady in the Victorian-era United States.
Did Victorian children wear uniforms?
SCHOOL UNIFORM IN THE 19TH CENTURY
All schools adopted a uniform to reflect trends of the time. Victorian schools were strict on appearance. Cleanliness is next to Godliness was promoted to students. Boys wore blazers, shorts and long socks, and caps were worn at some schools.
What did Victorian school children eat?
Popular foods included beef, mutton, port, bacon, cheese, eggs, bread, potatoes, rice, porridge oats, milk, vegetables, flour, sugar, treacle, jam and tea. Breakfast might consist of stoneground bread smeared with dripping or lard, with a large bunch of watercress.
Did Victorian schools have toilets?
When it was opened, it was described in the paper as being “a handsome edifice very well built and arranged to serve as a school and also a hall.” The school was split into three classrooms. The toilets were outside.
How were Victorian girls treated?
Women’s rights were extremely limited in this era, losing ownership of their wages, all of their physical property, excluding land property, and all other cash they generated once married. When a Victorian man and woman married, the rights of the woman were legally given over to her spouse.
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.