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Child

 
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A child (plural: children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty
Puberty

Puberty refers to the process of physical changes by which a child's body becomes an adult body capable of reproduction. Puberty is initiated by hormone signals from the brain to the gonads ....
. The legal definition of "child" generally refers to a minor
Minor (law)

In law, the term minor is used to refer to a person who is under the age in which one legally assumes adulthood and is legally granted rights afforded to adults in society....
, otherwise known as a person younger than the age of majority. "Child" may also describe a relationship with a parent
Parent

A parent is a mother or father; one who sexual reproduction or gives birth to and/or nurtures and raises an offspring. The different roles of parents vary throughout the tree of life, and are especially complex in human culture....
 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."








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A child (plural: children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty
Puberty

Puberty refers to the process of physical changes by which a child's body becomes an adult body capable of reproduction. Puberty is initiated by hormone signals from the brain to the gonads ....
. The legal definition of "child" generally refers to a minor
Minor (law)

In law, the term minor is used to refer to a person who is under the age in which one legally assumes adulthood and is legally granted rights afforded to adults in society....
, otherwise known as a person younger than the age of majority. "Child" may also describe a relationship with a parent
Parent

A parent is a mother or father; one who sexual reproduction or gives birth to and/or nurtures and raises an offspring. The different roles of parents vary throughout the tree of life, and are especially complex in human culture....
 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."

Definitions

The United Nations
United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, Social change, human rights and achieving world peace....
 Convention on the Rights of the Child
Convention on the Rights of the Child

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, often referred to as CRC or UNCRC, is an International human rights instruments setting out the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of children....
 defines a child as "every human being below the age of 18 years unless under the law
LAW

LAW may refer to:* Anti-tank warfare, e.g. the US Army M72 LAW or the British Army LAW 80*Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights ...
 applicable to the child, majority
Age of majority

The age of majority is the threshold of adulthood as it is conceptualized in law. It is the chronological moment when a child legally ceases to be considered a minor and assumes control over their persons, actions and decisions, thereby terminating the legal control and legal responsibilities of their parents or guardian over and for them....
 is attained earlier." Biologically, a child is anyone in the developmental
Human development (biology)

Human development is the process of growing to maturity. In biological terms, this entails growth from a one-celled zygote to an adult human being....
 stage of childhood
Childhood

Childhood is a broad term usually applied to the phase of Human_development_ in humans between Infant and adulthood....
, between infancy and adulthood.

Attitudes toward children