Victorian Children: Life in the 1800s

A Deep Dive into Childhood in the Years of the Victorian Era

In United Kingdom and British Empire history, the Victorian era is the period during which Queen Victoria reigned, between 20 June 1837 and her death on 22 January 1901. More broadly, the term commonly comes to be used to refer to the years between around 1820 and 1914. This era did not exactly correspond to her reign but did contain many of its characteristic features a class-structured society, an expanding electorate, a growing government, and Britain as the world's most dominant empire.

During these decades, the British Empire emerged as the world's first global industrial power, dominating the production of coal, iron, steel, and textiles. The role of the monarch by now had largely become ceremonial  to rule but not to govern.

To really get to grips with the Victorian years, it's well worth getting beyond dates and politics, and looking at how people lived, how families operated, what childhood was like, and how society changed during Queen Victoria's reign.

Queen Victoria

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Queen Victoria, one of the most recognizable queens in history, ruled for over six decades, 1837 until her passing in 1901 a time that saw enormous change and development. She was born in London on May 24, 1819, and at the tender age of 18 became Queen of the United Kingdom. With her devoted husband, Prince Albert, she had nine children four sons and five daughters born between 1840 and 1857.

Victoria's marriage to Albert endured until his premature death in 1861 from typhoid at age 42. She reigned as Empress over the greatest empire the world had ever known, and her name came to define an entire period of British history. She gradually became the grandmother of a vast royal dynasty with 42 grandchildren who held places within royal courts throughout Europe, and she earned for herself the lasting designation of "grandmother of Europe."

Queen Victoria wed her cousin, Prince Albert, in 1840. The marriage was one of deep love, with strong physical attraction  but apparently without any consideration for family planning. During the next eighteen years, the royal couple had nine children, all of whom went on to play an important role in European history. Amazingly, Queen Victoria suffered no miscarriages or stillbirths, and all of her children survived to adulthood.

As sovereign, Victoria ruled, but she and Albert kept to traditional gender roles within the home. The royal household became a model of Victorian domesticity and parenting  although their lifestyle was a long way off from that of most families.

They had nine children:

1. Victoria, Princess Royal (1840–1901) – Married German Emperor Frederick III.
2. Albert Edward (1841–1910) – Became King Edward VII.
3. Alice (1843–1878) – Married Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse.
4. Alfred (1844–1900) – Duke of Edinburgh, subsequently Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
5. Helena (1846–1923) – Married Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein.
6. Louise (1848–1939) – Married John Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll.
7. Arthur (1850–1942) – Duke of Connaught and Strathearn.
8. Leopold (1853–1884) – Duke of Albany.
9. Beatrice (1857–1944) – Married Prince Henry of Battenberg.

Being a Victorian royal child was all about strict discipline, rigorous education, and a well managed public image. In contrast to poorer children of the time, the royal princes and princesses had private tutors, elaborate outfits, and plenty of toys.

Prince Albert had in mind the royal family as a moral and domestic ideal  a scheme driven by lofty ideals and meant to mold the modern face of the royal family. As with most idealistic visions, however, human nature would sometimes interfere with the ideal

Life for Victorian Children during the Victorian era (1830-1900) was far from childhood as it is experienced in the modern world. For the rich, there was a general feeling of boredom and the insistence always to be proper and polite with little parent to child dialogue.Childhood was greatly varied based on whether you were part of a rich or poor family.

Rich children were cared for by nurses.Victoria's England was a youth-dominated culture. During her record-breaking reign, one in every three of her subjects was aged under fifteen.The Victorian child's life lay between obedient children and affectionate parents to strict patriarchal authority fraught with class and gender restrictions. No matter what, the most crucial element in the success of the child in life was the family. Life for children in Victorian times was quite different based on class. 

• Rich children resided in big houses with nurseries, nannies, and tutors. Their days started with individual lessons in reading, writing, numbers, music, and manners. Afternoons were spent playing under supervision, sewing for girls, and sports for boys.

• Poor children, on the other hand, had a very different reality. They worked long hours in factories, mines, or selling goods on the street. They did not have much access to education and lived in crowded, unhealthy conditions.

Children of just five years old in the Victorian era were being sent into factories to work during the Industrial Revolution. They were also being used as chimney sweeps, coal miners, servants and in cotton mills. Life for Victorian children was tough because they were being seen as economic units and it was only in the 1870s that there was any real improvement in children's rights. A lot of them worked long hours and hard labor under horrific conditions.

1. Early Morning: Wake up at 5 a.m. in a crowded tenement.
2. Morning Work: Go to a factory or coal mine to work 12–14 hours.
3. Afternoon: Short lunch breaks; most children ate while still working.
4. Evening: Come home exhausted, sometimes assisting with house duties or taking care of younger siblings.
5. Night: Sleep in shared beds with siblings, sometimes without proper bedding or heat.

For poor Victorian Children, life was not the same. The poor children worked public jobs for their families to keep them going. Toys were mere homemade dolls or wooden blocks. At the same time their family life was more loving and closer together.

The notion of childhood that exists today is in many ways a creation of the modern era. Things were quite different prior to the Victorian period. Adults used to work 16 hour shifts, six days a week, during the Industrial Revolution. Even this was not enough for the poor to feed the family. The moment children were able to walk and speak, they were supposed to work.Children worked 12 to 16 hour days, in congested, dirty buildings on the factory grounds. 

By the start of the nineteenth century, these "pauper apprentices" comprised a third of the cotton industry. The smallest children in cotton and textile mills were employed as scavengers and piecers. Scavengers were given the very hazardous task of collecting the loose cotton below the machinery while the machines were in operation.

Child labor was common in the Victorian era years. The Industrial Revolution brought an unprecedented demand for inexpensive labor, and the most vulnerable workforce was many times children.

1. Factories: Young girls and boys worked in textile mills operating dangerous machinery.
2. Mines: Children carried heavy loads of coal through underground tunnels.
3. Street Jobs: Orphans sold newspapers, shined shoes, or begged in order to survive.

The Factory Acts were implemented during the mid-19th century for the betterment of conditions.

For instance:

Under 1833 Act

Prohibited children under nine from working in textile mills.

Under 1847 Act:

restricted working hours to ten hours a day for children and women.

Despite these reforms, Victorian child labor was widespread until the late 1800s. Street children were forced to live on their wits in order to scrape together enough money to purchase some food and not have to turn to petty crime. A penny could be earned by running an errand or delivering a message for a passing gentleman.

Although schools have always been around it wasn’t until the Victorian era that these were improved considerably and available for all children rich and poor. In 1870 a law was passed which made it mandatory for all children aged between 5-10 in Britain to attend school.

Who Went To School?

Back when Queen Victoria first took the throne, schools weren’t for everyone  they were mostly for the wealthy. Rich children went to private schools where they studied languages like Latin and Greek and learned about ancient stories and legends. Their lessons included fascinating tales about Greek gods and goddesses, like the story of Helen of Troy  the woman whose beauty, according to myth, started a war that echoed through history.

The majority of children never attended school and were barely able to read or write. Victorians felt that the only solution to dealing with the expanding issues in the slums was to educate the poor and instill 'good Christian values' in them, including honesty and obedience.

How were Victorian classrooms like?

During the first half of the 1800s, the classes were enormous. Occasionally there were over 100 students in each class
The Victorian classroom was also known as the schoolroom.

1. Victorian students sat on iron-framed desks.
2. These were normally fixed to the floor in rows at the front of the room.
3. The floor of the schoolrooms were tiered (similar to in a cinema).
4. The children at the back of the class were higher than those at the front.
5. The school day in the morning began at 9 a.m. and continued until 12 noon.
6. Children were dispatched home for lunch and then back again for afternoon lessons which lasted from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m.
7. There were no school lunches and, occasionally, no break! Victorian lesson classes were at times very big with 40, 70 or even 100 students!
   

What did the Victorian children wear to school?

Girls-would-wear a knee-length woollen dress, generally in a dark-colored one. They'd also wear a white apron tied at the back to protect their dress; thick black stockings and shoes or boots were part of the clothing.

Boys wore a shirt, trousers and ankle boots, or shorts with long socks, topped with a jacket with a waistcoat or with a jumper underneath. Colours were subdued, like black, brown or grey.

Rich Children

Rich children were schooled at home by a governess until the age of 10. After a boy reached the age of 10, he left home to attend Public schools such as Eton or Harrow. There were hardly any schools for girls until almost at the end of the Victorian era. Rich girls were mainly educated at home

In 1880, legislation was enacted to ensure that all children in Britain between the ages of 5 and 10 attended school.

Where did poor children attend school?

Girls, however, were still educated in the home. poor were first exposed to school due to the 'Sunday school' initiative by Robert Raikes with around 1,250,000 children receiving an education through this practice by 1831.Classrooms were spacious and cold as ice in winter. The teacher would ensure lessons were work in itself, monotonous and actually not much fun at all. Girls and boys were taught differently, girls were taught needlework and domestic skills and boys woodwork. Children were expected to work hard at school and perform well at exams.

Victorian Teachers

There were more male teachers than female teachers in Victorian times. Children were expected to address a male teacher as 'Sir' and a female teacher as 'Madam' or 'Miss'.pupil-teachers assisted with the teaching. These were boys and girls aged over 13 years old. After having been a pupil-teacher for five years, they could themselves become teachers.

Children used to be frightened of their teachers since they were very austere. Children as young as thirteen assisted the teacher in managing the class. These "pupil teachers" wrote down notes for their lessons in books.

The school conditions only deteriorated their health further. At times, the teachers were beaten up by irate parents. They screamed that their children should be working and earning money, not losing time at school. Teachers in tough neighborhoods learned to box

Students were supposed to be highly obedient to their teachers and had to bow, salute or curtsy to them in the morning.

Punishment

Victorian schools were harsh. If anything was incorrect, there would be punitive action. A cane was swung by the Victorian teacher as punishment for naughtiness.

The cane might hit the palm, the bottom, or, occasionally, a strike would land across the back of the legs.

The naughty child can also be punished by doing lines or can be made to stand in corners with a dunce cap on your head. If not paying attention, a pupil would wear a dunce cap and sit in the corner for a while. Recite or write the same thing again and again, sometimes as many as a hundred times without mistake. 
Those who are less fortunate may receive a caning, which means being hit with a wooden cane on the backs of their legs or on their hands.

What did Victorian children learn? What were Victorian lessons like?

Another common experience in lessons during the Victorian era would be listening to your teacher and copying sentences from the blackboard. 

There are three Rs what Victorian children learned - reading, writing, and arithmetic: repetition and practice. In addition, they recited the times tables out loud until they could know. The lessons also cover history, geography and object "lessons", such as examining rocks or seeds for science. 
Drill was the equivalent of PE with sports practice executed in regular clothing. It involved marching, stretching, and lifting small weights. 

Boys received practical lessons in the afternoons such as woodwork and gardening while girls were taught subjects that included cooking and embroidery and household tasks. 

Indian education taught in cursive writing called copperplate. For left-handed people it was mandatory to write right handed often.

Victorian Toys and Victorian Games

However, played with toys during the Victorian period did bring gaiety of an otherwise sad life to children.

Rich Children

1. Porcelain Dolls
2. Rocking Horse
3. Tin Soldiers
4. Extravagant Board Games.
5. Jumping rope

Jumping rope The same thing exists today. This was formerly referred to as skipping rope in Victorian Times. It was likewise more popular with girls than boys as it is known now.

Tin SoldiersEvery child has a great urge to absorb all the things that people older than them do and copy their actions. Thats why the miniature toy Tea Set was so popular with young Victorian Girls.

Poor Children Made their toys from scraps of wood or cloth and played outdoor games such as rolling hoops and marbles. Playing was not only an activity that would occupy children but it could also teach the children social rules. Games often reinforced Victorian values of teamwork, discipline, and morality.

Health care for Victorian children was rudimentary, and hygiene practices were poor, particularly among the lower classes.

1. Diseases: Tuberculosis, cholera, and measles were common causes of child mortality.

2. Sanitation: Many urban homes lacked proper sewage systems, leading to widespread infections.

3. Medical Care: Doctors were expensive, and treatments were often ineffective by today’s standards.

Wealthier families had better access to doctors and clean living conditions, leading to longer life expectancies. Meanwhile, poor children faced malnutrition and little to no medical support.

1. Who were Victorian children?

Victorian children were those who lived during the Victorian era (1837–1901) in Britain. This period shaped childhood through major social, industrial, and educational changes, affecting both wealthy and poor families differently.

2. Did Queen Victoria have children?

Yes, Queen Victoria had nine children, and her strict parenting style reflected the moral values of the Victorian era.

3. What was life like for poor Victorian children?

Poor Victorian children often worked long hours in factories, coal mines, or on the streets to support their families. They had limited access to education, healthcare, and proper housing.

4. Did Victorian children go to school?

Education was mainly for wealthy children until the 1870 Education Act made schooling compulsory for ages 5–13. Poor children typically attended ragged schools offering free basic lessons.

5. What games did Victorian children play?

Victorian children enjoyed outdoor games like hoop and stick, marbles, skipping rope, and hide-and-seek. Wealthier families could afford dollhouses, rocking horses, and imported toys.