Children as young as six years old during the industrial revolution worked hard hours for little or no pay. Children were employed in factories for two reasons- Children meant cheaper labour, and families needed everyone bringing in money. B

The source above describes an apprentice’s first day in the mills. We can see from this source that the noise and smell was horrible. He became half suffocated throughout the day, and felt sick, and had a back ache. And this was just after one day. He became deformed eventually, and left. This is what happened to most people in the mills and factories.

Not only were these children made to work long hours, but also, they were in horrible conditions. Large, heavy, and dangerous equipment was very common for children to be using or working near. .Many accidents occurred, injuring or killing children on the job.

On the left, is a pie chart of the statistics of the number of people working in factories, and at what age. There were 14% of people working in factories, under the age of 14. Over the age of 14, there were 86%.

The treatment of children in factories was often cruel and unusual, and the children's safety was generally neglected. The youngest children, who were not old enough to work the machines, were commonly sent to be assistants to textile workers. The people who the children served would beat them, verbally abuse them, and take no consideration for their safety. Both boys and girls who worked in factories were subject to beatings and other harsh forms of pain infliction. One common punishment for being late or not working up to quota would be to be "weighted." An overseer would tie a heavy weight to worker's neck, and have them walk up and down the factory aisles so the other children could see them and "take example." This could last up to an hour. Weighting could lead to serious injuries in the back and/or neck. Punishments such as this would often be dispensed under stringent rules. Boys were sometimes dragged naked from their beds and sent to the factories only holding their clothes, to be put on there. This was to make sure the boys would not be late, even by a few minutes. Punishments were imposed for things like talking or whistling, leaving the room without permission, or having a little dirt on a machine.

Overall, life in the factories was a horrible, but common job, especially for the poorer people. It was particularly awful in the long, cold winter months. Many people were treated harshly, and worked very long hours, meaning that they had to get up early and go to bed very late. There were many rules, and punishments, and also a lot of accidents happened in the factories.