Final answer:
Option (3), Children in the early 1800s faced significant challenges including the necessity to work to support their families, performing household chores, and coping with long work hours in unsafe conditions.
Step-by-step explanation:
Sonya wrote an essay about children in the early 1800s and is interested in learning about some of the challenges they faced. During this time period, children dealt with a plethora of difficulties, many of which were labor-related due to the demands of the Industrial Revolution.
One of the primary struggles for children was the necessity to work extra to help support their families. Child labor was rampant, with children often working long hours in unsafe conditions in factories, mines, and sweatshops for meager wages. This responsibility frequently hindered their ability to attend school and receive an education. Laws eventually began to change this, mandating schooling and restricting child labor.
Despite the rise in public school attendance, the reality of child labor and long hours remained a significant issue well into the 1900s. Even as reforms were enacted to restrict child labor, implementation and enforcement of these laws were inconsistent, and many families still relied on the income that their children could provide.
In summary, the challenges faced by children in the early 1800s included household chores such as gardening and sewing, working to support their families, and being thrust into adult responsibilities at a very young age, oftentimes at the expense of their education and well-being.