Definition of a child

Definitions vary the majority say that a child is aged to 12 years and turns into a teenager at 13 so is no longer considered a child. There are many definitions:

The legal definition of "child" varies from government to government, and has varied over time within the same government. It is interchangeable with minor.

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".[3]
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child#Legal_definition)


For the purposes of the NESCPC Child Protection Guidelines, a child is defined as a person under 16 years of age.

Note: For persons over the age of 16 years there is no requirement to follow the NESCPC guidelines. However, where protective action is thought to be appropriate e.g. vulnerable young person/adult, the agencies involved may find some of the practices and principles underpinning the guidelines provide a helpful framework for considering how best to protect that person.
(http://www.nescpc.org.uk/nescpc/definition.html)

A person 6 to 12 years of age. An individual 2 to 5 years old is child, preschool.
(http://cancerweb.ncl.ac.uk/cgi-bin/omd?child)