Watch: Children in the 1930s
Find out what life was like for children in the 1930s.
Lucy: You just press on the one you want to watch.
Gigi: Push on the screen?
Lucy: Yeah, try it Gigi.
Gigi: Oh my goodness, this is wonderful. Back in my day, we had to go out to the cinema to watch anything. Let’s go back and see what life was like when I was eight years old.
Nathan: Gigi, you’re so young.
Young Gigi: Ha! The first time I saw a film was here.
Lucy: But where’s all the colours? It’s in black and white.
Young Gigi: There was no colour on films until much later, but I’d never seen anything like it before. It was so exciting, when mum and dad brought me for a surprise but I was lucky because it was quite expensive.
We played games like hopscotch and tag. The house next door had three families living there, so there was always lots of us.
Nathan: It must have been really crowded in their house.
Young Gigi: That’s why we were always playing outside.
Lucy: Oh look, I’ve got a scooter too but it looks a bit nicer than that.
Young Gigi: A lot of our toys were homemade because it was cheaper. This plane was my favourite toy. My daddy made it for me for my birthday.
Nathan: Does it have any lights or make any noise?
LAUGHS
Young Gigi: No. we didn’t have toys with batteries.
In the evening, we all used to gather round the radio and listen together.
Lucy: We watch TV together with our mum and dad at home.
Nathan: It’s a bit like that, isn’t it, Gigi?
Lucy: You had a lot of fun, didn’t you, Gigi?
Gigi: Yes, we did.
Nathan: Tell us some more stories, Gigi.
What was school like?
In the 1930s most children began school when they were 5 and finished when they were 14.
Many skipped classes to help at home with younger brothers or sisters.
There were often up to fifty children in a class.
Family life in the 1930s
In the 1930s, many adults worked long hours in factories, with no paid holidays.
Houses were damp and cold with no electricity. Toilets were outside.
Many children did not eat fresh vegetables or fruit and got ill.
Children played together in the streets and walked to school.
What entertainment was there for children?
Children read a lot of magazines and books.
Mary Poppins, The Hobbit and Peter Rabbit were favourite books.
They did not have holidays abroad. If they were lucky they went to the seaside once a year.
Most homes in Britain had a radio but not a television.
- Many children went to the cinema at the weekends.
- One of the most famous film stars of the 1930s was a child. Her name was Shirley Temple.
- Shirley Temple made her first film when she was only three years old.
What games did children play?
Most children played in the streets as there were not many cars.
Marbles, hopscotch, skipping and football were popular games.
In summer, cricket was played in the streets or on village greens.
Did you know?
- In the 1930s they had no antibiotics to cure diseases and infections.
- They did not have a vaccine to stop measles or flu spreading.
- People had to isolate and stay away from others because there was no cure, just as we did with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Activities
Activity 1: Children in the 1930s quiz
Activity 2: 1930s colouring sheet
Download and print this colouring sheet of Lucy, Nathan and Gigi in the 1930s. Can you colour it in and label all the items that Gigi and her friends used to play with?
Download the 1930s colouring sheet here.
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