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{{Short description|Human between birth and puberty}}
{{Redirect2|Children|Childhood||Child (disambiguation)|and|Children (disambiguation)|and|Childhood (disambiguation)}}
{{pp-protected|reason=vandalism/disruptive editing|expiry=indefinite|small=yes|vandalism}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2016}}
{{Human growth and development}}

[[File:International children dressed in their native costumes participate in the 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty - DPLA - 4461efafd5c4ba7fde8eedb1f13f439e.jpeg|thumb|250px|International children in traditional clothing at [[Liberty Weekend]]]]
A '''child''' ({{plural form|'''children'''}}) is a [[human]] being between the stages of [[childbirth|birth]] and [[puberty]],<ref name="Child">{{cite web|title=Child |publisher=[[TheFreeDictionary.com]]|access-date=5 January 2013|url=http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Child}}</ref><ref name="Mosby">{{cite Q|Q19573070| book| last= O'Toole | first= MT |title=Mosby's Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing & Health Professions |location = St. Louis MO | oclc = 800721165|isbn = 978-0-323-07403-2 | url = https://archive.org/details/mosbysdictionary09edunse/page/344/mode/2up?q=345 |publisher=[[Elsevier Health Sciences]]|year=2013|page=345}}</ref> or between the [[Development of the human body|developmental period]] of [[infancy]] and puberty.<ref name="Rathus">{{cite book|vauthors = Rathus SA|title =Childhood and Adolescence: Voyages in Development|isbn =978-1-285-67759-0|publisher=[[Cengage Learning]]|year=2013|page=48|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OfIWAAAAQBAJ&pg=PT48}}</ref> The term may also refer to an unborn human being.<ref>{{cite web|title=Child |publisher=[[OED.com]]|access-date=11 April 2023|url=https://www.oed.com/viewdictionaryentry/Entry/31619}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Child |publisher=[[Merriam-Webster.com]]|access-date=11 April 2023|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/child}}</ref> In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a [[minor (law)|minor]], in this case as a person younger than the local [[age of majority]] (there are exceptions such as, for example, the consume and purchase of [[alcoholic beverage]] even after said age of majority<ref>{{Cite web |title=When Is It Legal For Minors To Drink? |url=https://alcohol.org/laws/underage-drinking/ |access-date=2024-05-31 |website=Alcohol.org |language=en}}</ref>), regardless of their physical, mental and sexual development as biological [[adult]]s.<ref name=Child /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Children and the law |url=https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/child-protection-system/children-the-law/child-protection-system/children-the-law |access-date=2024-05-31 |website=NSPCC Learning}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=23.8: Adulthood |url=https://bio.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Human_Biology/Human_Biology_(Wakim_and_Grewal)/23%3A_Human_Growth_and_Development/23.8%3A_Adulthood#:~:text=Defining%20Adulthood,-Adulthood%20is%20the&text=A%20person%20may%20be%20physically,by%20law%20until%20older%20ages. |website=LibreTexts - Biology |date= 31 December 2018|quote=A person may be physically mature and a biological adult by age 16 or so, but not defined as an adult by law until older ages. For example, in the U.S., you cannot join the armed forces or vote until age 18, and you cannot take on many legal and financial responsibilities until age 21.}}</ref> Children generally have fewer [[Children's rights|rights]] and responsibilities than adults. They are generally classed as unable to make serious decisions. 

''Child'' may also describe a relationship with a [[parent]] (such as [[son]]s and [[daughter]]s of any age)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ssa.gov/dibplan/dacpage.shtml|title=For example, the US Social Security department specifically defines an adult child as being over 18|publisher=Ssa.gov|access-date=9 October 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131001072300/http://www.ssa.gov/dibplan/dacpage.shtml|archive-date=1 October 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref> or, [[Metaphor|metaphorically]], an [[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."<ref>{{cite web|title=American Heritage Dictionary |url=http://www.bartleby.com/61/13/C0291300.html |date=7 December 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071229155809/http://www.bartleby.com/61/13/C0291300.html |archive-date=29 December 2007 }}</ref>

== Biological, legal and social definitions ==
[[File:Children games Louvre Ma99 n2.jpg|thumb|Children playing ball games, Roman artwork, 2nd century AD]]
In the biological sciences, a child is usually defined as a person between birth and puberty,<ref name="Child"/><ref name="Mosby"/> or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty.<ref name="Rathus"/> Legally, the term ''child'' may refer to anyone below the age of majority or some other age limit.

The [[United Nations]] [[Convention on the Rights of the Child]] defines ''child'' as, "A human being below the age of 18 years unless under the [[law]] applicable to the child, [[Age of majority|majority]] is attained earlier."<ref name="un">{{cite web|url=http://www.hakani.org/en/convention/Convention_Rights_Child.pdf |title=Convention on the Rights of the Child|department = General Assembly Resolution 44/25 of 20 November 1989 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101031104336/http://www.hakani.org/en/convention/Convention_Rights_Child.pdf |archive-date=31 October 2010 |publisher=The Policy Press, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights}}</ref> This is ratified by 192 of 194 member countries. The term ''child'' may also refer to someone below another legally defined age limit unconnected to the age of majority. In [[Singapore]], for example, a ''child'' is legally defined as someone under the age of 14 under the "Children and Young Persons Act" whereas the age of majority is 21.<ref>{{cite web|title=Children and Young Persons Act|url=http://statutes.agc.gov.sg/aol/search/display/view.w3p;page=0;query=DocId%3A911aba78-1d05-4341-96b7-ee334d4a06f0%20%20Status%3Ainforce%20Depth%3A0;rec=0|website=Singapore Statutes Online|access-date=20 October 2017|archive-date=3 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180203075312/http://statutes.agc.gov.sg/aol/search/display/view.w3p;page=0;query=DocId:911aba78-1d05-4341-96b7-ee334d4a06f0%20%20Status:inforce%20Depth:0;rec=0|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Proposal to lower the Age of Contractual Capacity from 21 years to 18 years, and the Civil Law (Amendment) Bill |publisher=[[Ministry of Law (Singapore)|Ministry of Law]] |location=Singapore |url=http://www.mlaw.gov.sg/content/minlaw/en/news/public-consultations/proposal-to-lower-the-age-of-contractual-capacity-from-21-years-to-18-years-and-the-civil-law.html |access-date=21 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180626054418/https://www.mlaw.gov.sg/content/minlaw/en/news/public-consultations/proposal-to-lower-the-age-of-contractual-capacity-from-21-years-to-18-years-and-the-civil-law.html |archive-date=26 June 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In U.S. Immigration Law, a child refers to anyone who is under the age of 21.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/8/1101|title=8 U.S. Code § 1101 - Definitions|website=LII / Legal Information Institute}}</ref>

Some English definitions of the word ''child'' include the [[fetus]] (sometimes termed ''the unborn'').<ref name="SeeShorter">See Shorter ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' 397 (6th ed. 2007), which's first definition is "A fetus; an infant;...". See also ‘The Compact Edition of the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'': Complete Text Reproduced Micrographically’, Vol. I (''Oxford University Press'', Oxford 1971): 396, which defines it as: ‘The unborn or newly born human being; foetus, infant’.</ref> In many cultures, a child is considered an adult after undergoing a [[rite of passage]], which may or may not correspond to the time of puberty.

Children generally have fewer rights than adults and are classed as unable to make serious decisions, and legally must always be under the care of a responsible adult or [[child custody]], whether their parents divorce or not. 

== Developmental stages of childhood ==
{{Further|Child development stages|Child development}}

=== Early childhood ===
[[File:Children Playing Violin Suzuki Institute 2011.JPG|thumb|Children playing the [[violin]] in a group recital, Ithaca, New York, 2011]]
[[File:Malagasy girls Madagascar Merina.jpg|thumb|Children in [[Madagascar]], 2011]]
[[File:Child playing piano - 1984-11-01.jpg|thumb|Child playing piano, 1984]]

[[Early childhood]] follows the [[infant|infancy]] stage and begins with [[toddler]]hood when the child begins speaking or taking steps independently.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Alam |first1=Gajanafar |title=Population and Society |date=2014 |publisher=K.K. Publications |isbn=978-8178441986}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | vauthors = Purdy ER | date = 18 January 2019 |title=Infant and toddler development|url=https://www.britannica.com/science/infant-and-toddler-development|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|access-date=2020-05-27}}</ref> While toddlerhood ends around age 3 when the child becomes less dependent on parental assistance for basic needs, early childhood continues approximately until the age of 5 or 6. However, according to the [[National Association for the Education of Young Children]], early childhood also includes infancy. At this stage children are learning through observing, experimenting and communicating with others. Adults supervise and support the development process of the child, which then will lead to the child's autonomy. Also during this stage, a strong emotional bond is created between the child and the care providers. The children also start preschool and kindergarten at this age: and hence their social lives.

=== Middle childhood ===
Middle childhood begins at around age 7, and ends at around age 9 or 10.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Development In Middle Childhood |date=26 May 2020 |url=https://uark.pressbooks.pub/hbse1/chapter/cognitive-development-in-middle-childhood_ch_17/ |language=en |last1=Tyler |first1=Susan }}</ref> Together, early and middle childhood are called formative years. In this middle period, children develop socially and mentally. They are at a stage where they make new friends and gain new skills, which will enable them to become more independent and enhance their individuality.
During middle childhood, children enter the school years, where they are presented with a different setting than they are used to. This new setting creates new challenges and faces for children.<ref name="Collins_1984">{{cite book | vauthors = Collins WA | collaboration = National Research Council (US) Panel to Review the Status of Basic Research on School-Age Children | title = Development during Middle Childhood | year = 1984 | location = Washington D.C. | publisher = National Academies Press (US) | pmid = 25032422 | doi = 10.17226/56 | url = https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK216778/ | isbn = 978-0-309-03478-4 }}</ref> Upon the entrance of school, mental disorders that would normally not be noticed come to light. Many of these disorders include: [[autism]], [[dyslexia]], [[dyscalculia]], and [[ADHD]].<ref name = "Berger_2017">{{cite book | vauthors = Berger K |title=The Developing Person through the Lifespan |date=2017 |publisher=Worth Publishers |isbn=978-1-319-01587-9 }}</ref>{{rp|303–309}} [[Special education]], [[least restrictive environment]], [[response to intervention]] and [[individualized education plan]]s are all specialized plans to help children with disabilities.<ref name = "Berger_2017" />{{rp|310–311}}

Middle childhood is the time when children begin to understand responsibility and are beginning to be shaped by their peers and parents. Chores and more responsible decisions come at this time, as do social comparison and social play.<ref name = "Berger_2017" />{{rp|338}} During social play, children learn from and teach each other, often through observation.<ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Konner M |title=The Evolution of Childhood |date=2010 |publisher=The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |isbn=978-0-674-04566-8 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780674045668/page/512 512–513] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780674045668/page/512 }}</ref>

=== Late childhood ===
{{Main|Preadolescence}}
Preadolescence is a stage of human development following early childhood and preceding [[adolescence]]. Preadolescence is commonly defined as ages 9–12, ending with the major onset of puberty, with markers such as [[menarche]], [[spermarche]], and the peak of height velocity occurring. These changes usually occur between ages 11 and 14. It may also be defined as the 2-year period before the major onset of puberty.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://dictionary.apa.org/childhood | title=APA Dictionary of Psychology }}</ref> Preadolescence can bring its own challenges and anxieties. Preadolescent children have a different view of the world from younger children in many significant ways. Typically, theirs is a more realistic view of life than the intense, fantasy-oriented world of earliest childhood. Preadolescents have more mature, sensible, realistic thoughts and actions: 'the most "sensible" stage of development...the child is a much ''less emotional being'' now.'<ref>Mavis Klein, ''Okay Parenting'' (1991) p. 13 and p. 78</ref> Preadolescents may well view human [[Interpersonal relationship|relationship]]s differently (e.g. they may notice the flawed, human side of [[authority]] figures). Alongside that, they may begin to develop a sense of [[self (psychology)|self]]-[[Identity (social science)|identity]], and to have increased feelings of [[independence]]: 'may feel an individual, no longer "just one of the family."'<ref>E. Fenwick/T. Smith, ''Adolescence'' (London 1993) p. 29</ref>

== Developmental stages post-childhood ==
=== Adolescence ===
[[File:Paolo Monti - Serie fotografica - BEIC 6341393.jpg|thumb|An adolescent girl, photographed by [[Paolo Monti]]]]

[[Adolescence]] is usually determined to be between the onset of puberty and legal adulthood: mostly corresponding to the teenage years (13–19). However, [[puberty]] usually begins before the teenage years (10—11 for girls and 11—12 for boys). Although biologically a child is a human being between the stages of [[childbirth|birth]] and [[puberty]],<ref name="Child"/><ref name="Mosby"/> adolescents are legally considered children, as they tend to lack adult rights and are still required to attend compulsory schooling in many cultures, though this varies. The onset of adolescence brings about various physical, [[psychological]] and behavioral changes. The end of adolescence and the beginning of adulthood varies by country and by function, and even within a single nation-state or culture there may be different ages at which an individual is considered to be mature enough to be entrusted by society with certain tasks.

== History ==
{{main|History of childhood}}
[[File:Su Han Ch'en 001.jpg|upright|thumb|''Playing Children'', by [[Song dynasty]] [[Chinese art]]ist Su Hanchen, c. 1150 AD.]]
During the European [[Renaissance]], artistic depictions of children increased dramatically, which did not have much effect on the social attitude toward children, however.<ref>{{cite book| vauthors = Pollock LA |title=Forgotten children : parent-child relations from 1500 to 1900|date=2000|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-25009-2 |oclc=255923951}}</ref>

The French historian [[Philippe Ariès]] argued that during the 1600s, the concept of childhood began to emerge in Europe,<ref>{{cite book | title = Centuries of Childhood | vauthors = Ariès P | date = 1960| title-link = Centuries of Childhood | author-link = Philippe Ariès }}</ref> however other historians like [[Nicholas Orme]] have challenged this view and argued that childhood has been seen as a separate stage since at least the medieval period.<ref>{{cite book | title = Medieval Children |last1=Orme |first1=Nicholas |date=2001 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=0-300-08541-9}}</ref> Adults saw children as separate beings, innocent and in need of protection and training by the adults around them. The English philosopher [[John Locke]] was particularly influential in defining this new attitude towards children, especially with regard to his theory of the [[tabula rasa]], which considered the mind at birth to be a "blank slate". A corollary of this doctrine was that the mind of the child was born blank, and that it was the duty of the parents to imbue the child with correct notions. During the early period of [[capitalism]], the rise of a large, commercial middle class, mainly in the [[Protestantism|Protestant]] countries of the [[Dutch Republic]] and [[England]], brought about a new family ideology centred around the upbringing of children. [[Puritanism]] stressed the importance of individual salvation and concern for the spiritual welfare of children.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Fox VC | title = Poor Children's Rights in Early Modern England. | journal = The Journal of Psychohistory | date = April 1996 | volume = 23 | issue = 3 | pages = 286–306 | url = https://www.proquest.com/openview/20f04350242eb7f2342f8b8bb8326d76/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=1816657 }}</ref>

[[File:Fig 1 Sir Joshua Reynolds The Age of Innocence. Painted circa 1788. Frame contemporary with picture. From Houghton, 2005, 24.jpg|thumb|left|upright|''[[The Age of Innocence (painting)|The Age of Innocence]]'' {{Circa|1785}}/8. Reynolds emphasized the natural grace of children in his paintings.]]

The modern notion of childhood with its own autonomy and goals began to emerge during the 18th-century [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] and the [[Romanticism|Romantic period]] that followed it.<ref name="cohen"/><ref name="reeves"/> [[Jean Jacques Rousseau]] formulated the romantic attitude towards children in his famous 1762 novel ''[[Emile: or, On Education]]''. Building on the ideas of [[John Locke]] and other 17th-century thinkers, Jean-Jaques Rousseau described childhood as a brief period of sanctuary before people encounter the perils and hardships of adulthood.<ref name="cohen">{{cite book | vauthors = Cohen D |title= The development of play |date=1993 |publisher=Routledge |location=London |isbn=978-1-134-86782-0 |edition=2nd | page = 20 }}</ref> Sir [[Joshua Reynolds]]' extensive children portraiture demonstrated the new enlightened attitudes toward young children. His 1788 painting ''[[The Age of Innocence (painting)|The Age o

Child - Revision history