English Project 1800\'s | Page 2

The Terrible Truth about Child Labor

Last week our undercover photographer children between the ages of ten and fifteen are working with unhygienic working conditions for long hours and little pay. The working conditions in the factory impair the children’s health. They will work for up nineteen hours a day with minimal pay. Often in factories, factory owners mistreat the children by working them as much as possible without caring about health or safety. They are overworked and treated unfairly.

Children work in factories to earn money for their families but are paid half as much as adults are. Sometimes children as young as five or six years old are expected to work in the factories and are still mistreated and not cared for. They are treated as if the factory owners do not care for their safety or health. The children are put to work at giant machines that could kill or greatly injure them. Many children in the factories experience serious accidents.

They get one or two dollars if they even get paid at all. If children are late to work the factory owners will sometimes weigh them. When children are weighted, factory owners will tie a heavy weight to their neck and force them to walk up and down the aisle. They are only allowed minimal breaks or no breaks at all. Since factories provided shelter for the children, the factory owners often drag them down without clothes before they can get dressed to prevent them from being late. The children are dragged down only carrying their clothes. The children are mistreated.