In August 1799, Robert Blincoe, aged seven, worked as a sweeper in the Gonalston mill. He was one of the eighty-seven year olds sold by St. Pancras as parish apprentices. Although these children worked fourteen hours a day, six days a week, their food consisted only of brown bread and porridge. Robert Blincoe's first job was picking up loose cotton that had fallen to the ground. As easy as this job was, he was frightened by the whirling motion and noises the machine made. The amount of dust in the air also half suffocated him. Since he was constantly hunched over, his back hurt. Unfortunately, he didn't know that it was strictly forbidden to sit in cotton mills. He soon discovered this when his spectator, Mr. Smith, told him that he had to stand straight, which he did for six and a half hours without a break (Trueman). This was not uncommon for children during that time. Due to the increased demand for labor during the Industrial Revolution in England, children worked in terrible conditions which led to the passing of laws regulating the lives of children. “Child labor” generally refers to children working to produce a good or service that can be sold for money in a market whether or not they are paid for the work. A “child” is a person who depends on other individuals for his or her sustenance. (Keys). Child labor existed before the industrial revolution in the form of servants, apprentices, assistants and farmers. In Britain, boys usually worked in the fields and took care of the arid animals. While the girls performed light tasks outside, such as milking cows, inside they mainly performed housework. Work was considered as necessary as the education of children for when they would start their own business... middle of paper... the upheavals caused by the industrial revolution have eased, living conditions have improved, mortality rates have decreased and birth rates increased. There have been innovations in healthcare that have made it possible to eradicate common diseases and plagues with preventative medicine. As the availability of good quality food increased, people consumed healthier food allowing them to live easier lifestyles stabilizing the population. Urban populations offered people more opportunities to marry younger and have children earlier. As more children were born, a younger workforce emerged. Gender roles have changed due to factory employment. The separation between home and work has become clearer. Because men received higher wages than women, women were encouraged to stay at home. Urban populations increased as rural workers moved to cities in hopes of getting better jobs and pay (Skiwirk).