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| − | A '''child''' (plural: '''children''') is a young [[human]]. Depending on context it may mean someone who is not yet an [[adult]], or someone who has not yet reached [[puberty]] (someone who is '''prepubescent''').
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| − | '''Child''' is also the opposite of [[parent]]: adults are the children of their parents despite their maturation beyond infancy; for example ''"Benjamin, aged 26, is the child of Tobias, aged 63"''. Similarly in a generalized sense, see [[child node]].
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| − | ==Gender==
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| − | A female child is called a ''[[girl]]'' and a male child is a ''[[boy]]'' (though a small percentage of humans are [[intersexual]], this is a distinction of biological sex, not necessarily social or psychological [[gender identity|gender]]). Apart from the [[reproductive system]], young children do not differ much by sex. Whether cultural and parental practices emphasize or weaken [[gender identity]] is subject to debate. In general, the extent to which gender identity is formed during childhood or congenital is a matter of much debate within [[psychology]] and [[genetics]]. See also [[nature versus nurture|nature vs. nurture]].
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| − | ==Law==
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| − | In [[law]], a person who is not yet a legal adult is known as a [[minor (law)|minor]] (known in some places as a ''juvenile'', or, in others, as an ''infant''). For example, in many countries a person under the age of 18 is a minor. Most countries give additional legal protection to minors despite--and oftentimes due to--their underage status, and all [[United Nations]] member states except the [[United States]] and [[Somalia]] have ratified the UN [[Convention on the Rights of the Child]], although not all of them have followed it.
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| − | ==Development==
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| − | ''Child development'' is the study or examination of processes and mechanisms that operate during the physical and mental development of an infant into an adult.
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| − | ''Pediatrics'' is the branch of [[medicine]] relating to the care of children. It encompasses ages from prenatal to teenagers and even young adults (ages 0-21 years).
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| − | Terms for stages of age-related physical development include, with their approximate age ranges:
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| − | *[[zygote]], the point of [[conception]], fertilization
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| − | *[[embryo]]; in the later stages also called [[fetus]]
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| − | *[[childbirth]]
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| − | *''Child''
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| − | **[[infant]] (baby, newborn) (0-1.5)
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| − | **[[toddler]] (1.5-4)
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| − | **[[primary school]] age (also called '''prepubescence''') (4-12)
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| − | ***[[elementary school]] age (also called '''middle childhood''') (4-8)
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| − | ***[[preadolescence]] (preteen, or '''late childhood'''. The child in this and the previous phase are called ''schoolchild'' (''schoolboy'' or ''schoolgirl''), when still of primary school age.) (9-12)
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| − | *[[adolescence|adolescence and puberty]] (teenage) (13-19)
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| − | *[[young adult]] (16-25)
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| − | *[[adult]] (16-21 or older; exact minimum age may vary)
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| − | **[[early adulthood]] (20-39)
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| − | **[[middle age]] (40-59)
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| − | **[[advanced adult]]/[[Senior citizen]] (60+)
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| − | *[[death]] (occurs at various ages depending on person)
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| − | Also sometimes used are terms that specify one's age in decades, such as:
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| − | *[[twenty something]] (20-29)
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| − | *[[thirty something]] (30-39)
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| − | *[[quadragenarian]] (40-49) (rarely used since 1980)
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| − | *[[quinquagenarian]] (50-59)
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| − | *[[sexagenarian]] (60-69)
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| − | *[[septuagenarian]] (70-79)
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| − | *[[octogenarian]] (80-89)
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| − | *[[nonagenarian]] (90-99)
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| − | *[[centenarian]] (100-109)
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| − | *[[supercentenarian]] (110+)
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| − | ===Physical development milestones===
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| − | * Ability to lift and control the orientation of the head
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| − | * [[crawling]] begins
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| − | * [[walking]] begins
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| − | * [[speech]] begins
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| − | * [[voice]] lowers in pitch (especially noticeable in boys)
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| − | * [[pubic hair]] appears
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| − | * [[genitals]] and reproductive organs mature
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| − | * [[menses]] begin (females)
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| − | * [[body hair]] and [[facial hair]] appears
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| − | Note: the [[Tanner stages]] can be used to approximately judge a child's age based on physical development.
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| − | ===Cognitive development===
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| − | * [[learning]]
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| − | * [[music lessons]]
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| − | * [[infant education]]
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| − | * [[language acquisition]]
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| − | * [[developmental psychology]]
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| − | * [[child art]]
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| − | ==Notable child prodigies==
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| − | * [[Christian Friedrich Heinecken]] (''The Infant of [[Lübeck]]'')
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| − | * [[Isaac Albeniz]]
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| − | * [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart]]
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| − | * [[Sarah Chang]]
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| − | See also: [[child prodigy]]
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| − | ==Human development ==
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| − | '''Human development''' refers to all forms of development above, often in the context of [[clinical psychology|clinical]] or [[developmental psychology]], or as [[human development theory]] (in [[economics]], an outgrowth of [[welfare economics]]).
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| − | Both the psychological and economic fields share a special concern with [[education]] and [[language]] fluency including [[literacy]] and [[numeracy]], and with identification and development of more unique talents into the [[capital (economics)|economic variable]] known as [[individual capital]].
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| − | Earlier branches of economics see humans in terms of labour for [[production]], [[means of persuasion]] or [[means of protection|protection]], which tend to be skills acquired only in adolescence and adulthood. The human development view is more evident in [[sports]], [[music]] and other [[performing arts]], such as [[child actor|acting]] where the '''child''' begins [[training]] often as early as three years of age. Think of [[Tiger Woods]] and his early practice [[golf]]ing.
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| − | While there are problems with such early "streaming", [[child murder]], [[child abandonment]], [[military use of children]] and other major social ills are thought to be reduced by a human development approach – as there is a [[value of life|high value assigned to children]] by the state.
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| − | The [[UN Human Development Index]] is a means of [[measuring well-being]] used to rank states by these criteria. Although [[child abuse]] is thought to be lower in countries with a high ranking on this Index, that is not easily proven.
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| − | == Other uses of the word ==
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| − | '''''Childhood Theme''''' is a song performed by [[Michael Jackson]]. It is the theme of the movie ''[[Free Willy]] 2'', and on the album [[HIStory]] ( [http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/michaeljackson/childhood.html lyrics]).
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| − | ==See also==
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| − | '''[[list of child related articles]]'''
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| − | * [[boy]], [[girl]]
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| − | * [[child abandonment]]
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| − | * [[child abuse]]
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| − | * [[child custody]]
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| − | * [[child discipline]]
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| − | * [[child labor]]
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| − | * [[child prodigy]]
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| − | * [[child sexuality]]
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| − | * [[child support]]
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| − | * [[childcare]]
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| − | * [[children in history]]
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| − | * [[defense of infancy]]
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| − | * [[education]], [[school]]
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| − | * [[fathers' rights]]
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| − | * [[parenting]]
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| − | * [[Parental Alienation Syndrome]]
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| − | * [[street children]]
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| − | * [[children's street culture]]
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| − | * [[Taking Children Seriously]]
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| − | * [[toy]]
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| − | * [[UNICEF]]
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| − | * [[Visitation]]
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| − | [[Category:Humans]]
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