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Child

Children in a doorway in Jerusalem

Children in Namibia

A child is a human being between birth and puberty; a boy or girl. The legal definition of "child" generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger than the age of majority. "Child" may also describe a relationship with a parent or authority figure, or signify group membership in a clan, tribe, or religion; it can also signify being strongly affected by a specific time, place, or circumstance, as in "a child of nature" or "a child of the Sixties."^[1]

Definitions
Attitudes toward children
Age of responsibility
See also
References

Definitions

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child defines a child as "every human being below the age of 18 years unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier."^[2]Biologically, a child is anyone in the developmental stage of childhood, between infancy and adulthood.

Attitudes toward children

Girls in Xinjiang in northwestern China

Social attitudes toward children differ around the world, and these attitudes have changed over time. One study has found children in the United States are coddled and overprotected.^[3] A 1988 study on European attitudes toward the centrality of children found Italy was more child-centric and Holland less child-centric, with other countries (Austria, Great Britain, Ireland, and West Germany) falling in between.^[4]

Age of responsibility

Population aged under 15 years in 2005

The age at which children are considered responsible for their own actions has also changed over time, and this is reflected in the way they are treated in courts of law. In Roman times, children were regarded as not culpable for crimes, a position later adopted by the Church. In the nineteenth century, children younger than seven years old were believed incapable of crime. Children from the age of seven were considered responsible for their actions. Hence, they could face criminal charges, be sent to adult prisons, and be punished like adults by whipping, branding or hanging. ^[5]

References

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Child

Contents

Definitions

Attitudes toward children

Age of responsibility

See also

References