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Biologically, a child (plural: children) is a human between the stages of birth and puberty.〔(【引用サイトリンク】publisher=TheFreeDictionary.com )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】publisher=Oxford University Press )〕 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 (such as sons and daughters of any age) or, 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".〔(【引用サイトリンク】url= http://www.bartleby.com/61/13/C0291300.html )〕 There are many social issues that affect children, such as childhood education, bullying, child poverty, dysfunctional families, child labor, and in developing countries, hunger. Children can be raised by parents, by fosterers, guardians or partially raised in a day care center. == Legal, biological, and social definitions == 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, majority is attained earlier".〔("Convention on the Rights of the Child" ) The Policy Press, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights〕 This is ratified by 192 of 194 member countries. In U.S. Immigration Law, a child refers to anyone who is under the age of 21.〔(8 U.S.C. § 1101(b)(1) )〕 Biologically, a child is generally anyone between birth and puberty or in the developmental stage of childhood, between infancy and adulthood.〔〔 Some English definitions of the word ''child'' include the fetus (sometimes termed ''the unborn'').〔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’.〕 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. Recognition of childhood as a state different from adulthood began to emerge in the 16th and 17th centuries. Society began to relate to the child not as a miniature adult but as a person of a lower level of maturity needing adult protection, love and nurturing. This change can be traced in paintings: In the Middle Ages, children were portrayed in art as miniature adults with no childlike characteristics. In the 16th century, images of children began to acquire a distinct childlike appearance. From the late 17th century onwards, children were shown playing with toys and later literature for children also began to develop at this time. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Child」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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