Throughout most of the Victorian era, the questions that arose about child workers was not whether children should be required to work, but at what ages and for how long. During the 19th century a number of acts were passed to address both those concerns - for example, an act was passed to raise the minimum age of chimney sweeps to eight (prior to which sweeps employed children as young as four). Hours were slowly decreased, until finally a maximum of ten hours a day was imposed on all workers, children included. To the authors of the articles below, child workers are a part of normal Victorian life, something one sees every day. For an eye-opening look at the evolution of children's rights, take a look at Timeline of young people's rights in the United Kingdom on Wikipedia!

Chimney Sweepers (Cassell's Family Paper, 1860)

Shoeblacks (Cassell's Family Paper, 1860)

The Workshop Regulation Act (Leisure Hour, 1868)

An act that prohibited the employment of children under the age of eight, and regulated hours of employment for older children.

Chimney Sweeps, Past and Present, by William H. Rideing (St. Nicholas, 1875)

Some Little Ones of the Street, by Thomas Archer (Little Folks, 1883)

The Crossing-Sweeper

The Flower-Seller

The Match-Seller

The Newspaper-Seller

The Little Water-Cress Seller

The Shoe-Black

Children of the Pantomime, by Anne Beale (Girl's Own Paper, 1885)

"All these young creatures, when 'on,' as they call it, are kept up till midnight in their various theatres; often shivering with cold, in their gauzy, shining costume; often hungry; always in a state of unnatural excitement. Yet... the doors of the theatres are besieged by clamouring mothers, who will sell their children for hire, to become any sort of creature that the exigencies of the play demand..."

Child Workers in London (The Strand, 1891A)

A look at the amazing variety of employments fulfilled by children in London - and the pros and cons thereof.

The Flower-Girls of London, by Emma Brewer (Girl's Own Paper, 1892)

A look at the lives, manners and situation of London's flower-sellers.

London Flower Girls After the Great Frost (Girl's Own Paper, 1895)

A Day in the Life of a Scavenger Boy, by J.D. Symon (English Illustrated Magazine, 1899A)

The life of the "street orderly boy," responsible for keeping London's streets clean.

• See also Children's Charities & Services