9 Year Old Newsie

Oh brother. Sorry for anyone that has to have you in their life.

Oh shut up. You know nothing about me. Sorry not sorry!

Young children working endured some of the harshest conditions. Workdays would often be 10 to 14 hours with minimal breaks during the shift. Factories employing children were often very dangerous places leading to injuries and even deaths. Machinery often ran so quickly that little fingers, arms and legs could easily get caught. Beyond the equipment, the environment was a threat to children as well as factories put out fumes and toxins. When inhaled by children these most certainly could result in illness, chronic conditions or disease.
Children working in rural areas were not faring much better. Harvesting crops in extreme temperatures for long hours was considered normal for these children. Work in agriculture was typically less regulated than factory duties. Farm work was often not considered dangerous or extraneous for children, even though they carried their weight and more in loads of produce and handled dangerous tools.

Yeah they sure were grateful breathing in toxins and losing fingers.

Pretty are you guys are reading waaaaay more into my comment than what is intended. If you think I am for child labor, you are ALL wrong, my children don't even have chores at home. But y grandparents were born in the 19-teens and they lived thru the Great Depression. They were a hard working, military family that did what it took to put food on the table for their 3 kids. These days people are soft and want to be pampered and don't have any pride in hard work. No one is entitled to anything, you have to busy your a** to make it and what's wrong with that? The people in my grandparents era knew hard times. REAL hard times. All people do now is troll the Internet looking for a fight. Good day gentlemen, I'm done entertaining you.

I don't think this young lady was saying children were grateful for what they endured. More like they were grateful for what they had, for each day of their life. My great Uncle laid ties for the railroad starting at age 11 and he never took anything for granted and he didn't regret having worked so young.He spoke of it with pride because he helped his family.

Thank you Becky, that's exactly what I meant!

Amen to all those kids who grew up gratefull for all they had and how hard they worked for and the respect they learned from them to others! Don't find that much any more!

**roll eyes**

Do you know what. Jessica wasn't advocating child labour in any way. By the sounds of it I'm assuming she doesn't agree with dangerous conditions for adults either. She was merely saying that the only good outcome of the work back then was that what little children had growing up into adulthood they appreciated all the more. I think the moral of appreciating every day as it comes is lost especially in today's younger generation. I turn 19 this Sunday and it's sad that in previous jobs and as of current in university I rarely find friends my own age because their all immature ungrateful spoilt little so and so's. Needless to say I could go on about how I can't stand my own generation for hours but it wouldn't get me anywhere. Don't get me wrong the few ypung friends I have I treasure all the more. I just feel had the others of had to work harder at a young age and indeed had to have been a carer at a young age like me, perhaps if they had to work hard for what they had, they'd appreciate everything in life and be more compassionate to others all the more. No one likes a spoilt adult after all! I hope this comment helps you Jessica :-) xx

And Paul I'd be very grateful to have someone like Jessica in my life in fact I wish she was. Very few people take the time of day to be kind to others now and even take the time to properly instill morals into their kids. Jessica sounds like a wonderful mother I hope I can do as well as her one day when I become one too :-)

Wow Kezia thank you! That is probably the nicest thing a stranger as ever told me. You are so sweet!

I think people have forgotten that this is a photo of a boy that is selling newspapers, not working in a coal mine. And yes that happened too! But you know what? Hindsight is 20/20, we can argue all day long about how working conditions were unfit and deplorable and young children were worked to death, literally at times. But that car you drive today, the cell phone you use without a care, the TV you watch your mindless reality shows on, none of that would even exist today without the industrial revolution. We would have none of these comforts to take for granted today. I don't need to be educated on history, I educate myself everyday. I love history, I actually take time to research and read about it because its a favorite subject of mine.

I honestly couldn't care less about what random strangers think about me, I have all I need and more and take care of everyone I love. And more! Speaking of which, I am off to work. Have a great day everyone!

Yep. Just me. Because that is exactly what I said. I am sorry that that is all that you took from this conversation.

My grandfather quit school and went to work for the CNR (Canadian National Railway), to help his family, when he was 11. That was in 1889. He worked there until he retired at age 65, in 1943. After that he continued working, doing odd jobs to keep himself busy, like tending to the garden of the president of the local bank. He lived to be 78. He also put his younger brother through school. That younger brother became the head accountant for a company in Detroit, and was a millionaire when he passed, in the 1950s.

You threw out a general "people these days are lazy" statement and did not expect to get any adverse responses? People "these days" are no more lazy than at any other time. People are no more soft or pampered than at any other time either. Everyone still has to work just as hard to get what they have, unless they're born wealthy.

No, because newspapers require carriers to own cars. They also deliver them in the wee morning hours.

Luxury! All we had to eat was the rocks in the bottom of the muddy hole we had to live in. (And if you tell young people today about that, they don't believe you.)

and we liked it!

Exactly!