27 With Child 1893

What child doesn't need people who truly love them? How would a young child, who didn't have parents, get food and clothes? Where would such a child live? In 1893, the Canadians who cared very much about children saw that there were many children that needed help. They made a law that became known as the Children's Protection Act.

In the 1800's in Canada, there were no places that children could go if they did not have parents to care for them. These children ran in the streets. They tried to find food. They sometimes worked a little for a bit of money. They went to sleep in doorways or on the floors of taverns after the people who had been drinking alcohol went home. Some took food from stores without asking. Some girls had to go with men to get money. One person who wanted to help said: “they had to live like dogs.”

When Canada was a young country, children were put to work from about the age of seven. At that time, no one thought this was a bad thing. Children helped their family with farm work. They did things to help their family get money like washing clothes, or selling newspapers.

Children who did not have parents were put to work in factories. In the factories, they learned a job like sewing or building things from wood. When these children grew up they had a way to make money, so they could take care of their own children.

However, factory bosses did not take care of the children that worked for them. Often those children did not have enough food, clothes, or drinking water in the factory. They had to work long hours. Most did not get any money. Many of them were hit by the boss if he did not like their work.

Working in a factory or going to jail were the only two ways that children without a mother and father could stay off the street. In prison, they would get food, clothes, and a bed. Even so, the factory, the street, and the jail were not good places for children to grow up.

Starting in 1870, the Canadian government made laws about child workers. The first law said no one younger than 14 years old could work in a factory. This stopped some of the factory bosses from using children without taking good care of them. However, it made things very bad for the young children who had no place to live. They ended up living in the street.

There were many Canadians who wanted to help. They thought that children were important. They thought that children needed a family who loved and wanted them. Some of these people who cared were powerful Canadians and they could make things happen. They made the Children's Protection Act. This law said that children could be taken off the street and put into children's shelters. The law said that children who were living in very bad homes could be taken away from their parents who did not care for them. This law said that these children could be put with another family who could take care of them called a foster family. This law said that the Children's Aid Society could be guardians of these children. The Children's Aid Society could take care of these children until they could find good parents for them.

The Children's Aid Society was started in Canada by John J. Kelso. John had come to Canada from Ireland. Ireland did not have enough food when John's family left. Everyone was hungry. Many Irish people were dying. John's father lost all of his money when his business had a fire. The family moved to Canada when John was 10 years old. When John got to Canada, it was almost winter. It was cold and his family did not have any money. John could not go to school. He had to look for wood to make a fire to keep his family warm. Sometimes he took food without paying for it.

THE CHILDREN'S AID SOCIETY MAKES SURE ORPHANED CHILDREN ARE TAKEN CARE OF

John had many friends. His friends also stole food because they were poor and did not have the money to buy it. One day five of his friends were caught by the police. They had to go to jail. Another time, John talked to a poor boy who had to sell newspapers to make money for his father. The boy's father did not buy food with this money. He bought alcohol. The boy was always hungry, but he was frightened he would go to jail like the other boys if he stole food.

When John was an adult man he was walking down a street in Toronto, Ontario, one night. He saw two children sitting in the street asking for money. They were crying. The boy and girl told John that their father said he would hit the children unless they brought home 25 cents. The children only had 15 cents. It was cold and it was very late. The children were tired and hungry, but they were frightened to go home. John found them a place to sleep that night.

John remembered how bad it was being a child. He wanted to help poor children. When he found the two children begging for money on the street he wanted to make a shelter. He wanted a place where children could sleep and get food when they did not have a home. He brought the Children's Aid Society to Canada. The society made a shelter where children who needed care could sleep. The Children's Aid Society helped children go to school. It was a place where children could play and have fun.

Many people helped Canadian children get a better life. John started the Children's Aid Society. The government made the Children's Protection Act. Loving mothers and fathers said they would take a child into their home and be foster parents. Children who were hurt by their family members found new families to take care of them.

Of course, not every child's story is a successful one. For example, not all children who are helped by the Children's Aid Society are lovingly cared for. However, Canadian children without parents certainly have a better life now than they did in 1893. Canadian children today can all get food, clothes, shelter, and an education. No young children have to live on the streets or beg for money. No children have to work. Today, Canadian children who want help have many places they can go to ask for it.