
“Breaker boys,” most 8–12, who worked 60-hour weeks breaking coal when child labor was permitted
A breaker boy was a young coal-mining worker in the 19th and early 20th centuries who worked in coal mines in the United States and United Kingdom. These boys, usually between the ages of 8 and 12, were employed to separate impurities and debris from the coal after it was brought to the surface.







