Child

Child
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Child".

This article is about the human "child", plural "children". For other uses, see Child (disambiguation).

Children in a doorway in Jerusalem

Children in Namibia

A child is a young 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]

content

1 Definitions
2 Attitudes toward children
3 Age of responsibility
4 See also
5 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 that children in the United States are coddled and overprotected.^[3] A 1988 study on European attitudes toward the centrality of children found that 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

^ "American Heritage Dictionary" (2007-12-07).
^ "Convention on the Rights of the Child". Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Ratified by 192 of 194 member countries.
^ Child-centered America
^ Rachel K. Jones and April Brayfield, Life's greatest joy?: European attitudes toward the centrality of children. Social Forces, Vol. 75, No. 4, Jun 1997. 1,239-69 pp. Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
^ Juvenile courts

Preceded by Toddlerhood	Stages of human development Childhood	Succeeded by Preadolescence

v • d • e Human development: biological - psychological - Overview table

Pre- and perinatal	Prenatal development • Pre- and perinatal psychology

Infancy	Infant and child development (stages) • Infancy

Childhood	Child development (stages) Toddlerhood • Preadolescence

Adolescence	Youth development • Puberty

Adulthood	Early adulthood • Middle adulthood • Late adulthood • Ageing & Senescence

Theorists-theories	John Bowlby-attachment • Erik Erikson-psychosocial • Sigmund Freud-psychosexual • Lawrence Kohlberg-moral • Jean Piaget-cognitive • Lev Vygotsky-cultural-historical

v • d • e

Articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

General principles

Article 1: Freedom, Egalitarianism, Dignity and Brotherhood Article 2: Universality of rights

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

Article 1 and 2: Right to freedom from discrimination · Article 3: Right to life, liberty and security of person · Article 4: Freedom from slavery · Article 5: Freedom from torture and cruel and unusual punishment · Article 6: Right to personhood · Article 7: Equality before the law · Article 8: Right to effective remedy from the law · Article 9: Freedom from arbitrary arrest, detention and exile · Article 10: Right to a fair trial · Article 11.1: Presumption of innocence · Article 11.2: Prohibition of retrospective law · Article 12: Right to privacy · Article 13: Freedom of movement · Article 14: Right of asylum · Article 15: Right to a nationality · Article 16: Right to marriage and family life · Article 17: Right to property · Article 18: Freedom of thought, conscience and religion · Article 19: Freedom of opinion and expression · Article 20.1: Freedom of assembly · Article 20.2: Freedom of association · Article 21.1: Right to participation in government · Article 21.2: Right of equal access to public office · Article 21.3: Right to universal suffrage

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

Article 1 and 2: Right to freedom from discrimination · Article 22: Right to social security · Article 23.1: Right to work · Article 23.2: Right to equal pay for equal work · Article 23.3: Right to just remuneration · Article 23.4: Right to join a trade union · Article 24: Right to rest and leisure · Article 25.1: Right to an adequate standard of living · Article 25.2: Right to special care and assistance for mothers and children · Article 26.1: Right to education · Article 26.2: Human rights education · Article 26.3: Right to choice of education · Article 27.1: Right to participate in culture · Article 27.2: Right to intellectual property

Context, limitations and duties

Article 28: Social order · Article 29.1: Social responsibility · Article 29.2: Limitations of human rights · Article 29.3: The supremacy of the purposes and principles of the United Nations
Article 30: Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.

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Contents

Definitions

Attitudes toward children

Age of responsibility

See also

References