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.[from wikipedia]

Biologically, a child is a person between birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty.[3] Legally, the term child may refer to anyone below the age of majority or some other age limit.[from wikipedia]

Some English definitions of the word child include the fetus (sometimes termed the unborn). 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.[from wikipedia]

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 or child custody, whether their parents divorce or not.[from wikipedia]

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.[from wikipedia]