Editing Industrial Revolution (section)

====Child labour====
{{see also|Child labour#The Industrial Revolution}}
[[File:coaltub.png|right|frame|A young "drawer" pulling a coal tub along a mine gallery.<ref name="From Coal Mine Upwards: or Seventy Years of an Eventful Life"/> In Britain, laws passed in 1842 and 1844 improved mine working conditions.]]

The chances of surviving childhood did not improve throughout the Industrial Revolution, although ''infant'' mortality rates were reduced markedly.<ref name="Buer"/><ref name="Demographic Transition and Industrial Revolution: A Macroeconomic Investigation"/> There was still limited opportunity for education, and children were expected to work. Child labour had existed before, but with the increase in population and education it became more visible. Many children were forced to work in bad conditions for much lower pay than their elders,<ref name="victorianweb"/> 10–20% of an adult male's wage,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Child Labor {{!}} History of Western Civilization II |url=https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-hccc-worldhistory2/chapter/child-labor/ |access-date=2023-10-18 |website=courses.lumenlearning.com |archive-date=3 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231103180822/https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-hccc-worldhistory2/chapter/child-labor/ |url-status=live }}</ref> even though their productivity was comparable; there was no need for strength to operate an industrial machine, and since the industrial system was new, there were no experienced adult labourers. This made child labour the labour of choice for manufacturing in the early phases of the Industrial Revolution, between the 18th and 19th centuries. In England and Scotland in 1788, two-thirds of the workers in 143 water-powered cotton mills were children.<ref name="galbithink"/>

Reports detailing some of the abuses, particularly in the mines<ref name="Testimony Gathered by Ashley's Mines Commission"/> and textile factories,<ref name="The Life of the Industrial Worker in Nineteenth-Century England"/> helped to popularise the children's plight. The outcry, especially among the upper and middle classes, helped stir change for the young workers' welfare. Politicians and the government tried to limit child labour by law, but factory owners resisted; some felt they were aiding the poor by giving their children money to buy food, others simply welcomed the cheap labour. In 1833 and 1844, the first general laws against child labour, the [[Factory Acts]], were passed in Britain: children younger than nine were not allowed to work, children were not permitted to work at night, and the working day for those under 18 was limited to 12 hours. Factory inspectors enforced the law; however, their scarcity made this difficult.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Two steps forward, one step back - History of Occupational Safety and Health |url=https://www.historyofosh.org.uk/brief/ |access-date=2023-10-18 |website=www.historyofosh.org.uk |archive-date=3 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231103180823/https://www.historyofosh.org.uk/brief/ |url-status=live }}</ref> A decade later, the employment of children and women in mining was forbidden. Although laws decreased child labourers, it remained significantly present in Europe and the US until the 20th century.<ref name="archives"/>