# What do you think when you think of the word "child"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 12, 2012, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-when-you-think-of-the-word-child/643827 "2012-12-12T14:36:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-when-you-think-of-the-word-child/643827/21 "2012-12-12T19:54:55Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I thought of words: innocent and hilarious were the first two words that came to mind. Haha, I hadn’t found “hilarious” yet in anything I’m looking through! I like that 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-when-you-think-of-the-word-child/643827/22 "2012-12-13T00:27:50Z")
Innocent hair springing. Eyes wide open to absorb. Hands reaching for what’s offered, without reserve. Potential. ---
**Author:** ![taskmgr.exe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@taskmgr.exe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/taskmgr.exe)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-when-you-think-of-the-word-child/643827/23 "2012-12-13T00:32:01Z")
> [@gracer](#): > > I’m from western Europe: the Netherlands and the UK. I think my thoughts are fairly representative of the way people here think of children, but we’ll see as more people respond I suppose… I am going to marry the thoughts of people from the Netherlands. ---
**Author:** ![Scholar\_Beardpig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de053/32.png) [@Scholar\_Beardpig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scholar_Beardpig)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-when-you-think-of-the-word-child/643827/24 "2012-12-13T00:33:01Z")
“And I say to my child, I say chi~ld!” That’s from Eddy Murphy’s Raw. ---
**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-when-you-think-of-the-word-child/643827/25 "2012-12-13T01:01:16Z")
> [@Becky2844](#): > > Innocent hair springing. Eyes wide open to absorb. Hands reaching for what’s offered, without reserve. Potential. The innocent hair springing has me confused, but I love the rest 🙂 [QUOTE=taskmgr.exe] I am going to marry the thoughts of people from the Netherlands. [/QUOTE] Oi, just because we have SSM doesn’t mean you can marry thoughts now too, the whole slippery slope argument is bunk 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-when-you-think-of-the-word-child/643827/26 "2012-12-13T01:21:00Z")
> [@gracer](#): > > The innocent hair springing has me confused, but I love the rest 🙂 > > Oi, just because we have SSM doesn’t mean you can marry thoughts now too, the whole slippery slope argument is bunk 😉 Poetic license. Kids’ hair, especially at their temples, sproing with earnest sweat and naivetee (sp). Kissable. ---
**Author:** ![taskmgr.exe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@taskmgr.exe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/taskmgr.exe)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-when-you-think-of-the-word-child/643827/27 "2012-12-13T01:50:55Z")
> [@gracer](#): > > Oi, just because we have SSM doesn’t mean you can marry thoughts now too, the whole slippery slope argument is bunk 😉 Can I get that in English, please? ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-when-you-think-of-the-word-child/643827/28 "2012-12-13T03:24:26Z")
So the first thing that came to mind was not a word, but a picture. For a better answer to the OP, that is, actual words that come to mind, the first thing that popped up was “sweet.” I don’t even like kids, but “sweet” was the first thing I thought of. ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-when-you-think-of-the-word-child/643827/29 "2012-12-13T06:49:11Z")
Hitler… wrong thread ---
**Author:** ![Wolverine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba9def/32.png) [@Wolverine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolverine)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-when-you-think-of-the-word-child/643827/30 "2012-12-13T07:25:03Z")
My surname. Without specifying which one (though it’s not to hard to find on this board), my surname is one of the several English names that use “child” as a base. ---
**Author:** ![Noone\_Special](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noone_special/32/2863_2.png) [@Noone\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noone_Special)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-when-you-think-of-the-word-child/643827/31 "2012-12-13T07:54:35Z")
Less than ~12 years old - definitely a child. More than ~18 years old – definitely no longer a child. In between - “it depends.” And obviously I’ll consider more 14 YOs as children than 17 YOs. Israeli, Western/Jewish cultural background. ETA: Having read more answers, “until the onset of puberty/sexual inquisitiveness” is probably a fairly good representation of how I look at it. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-when-you-think-of-the-word-child/643827/32 "2012-12-13T08:14:18Z")
Harold ---
**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-when-you-think-of-the-word-child/643827/33 "2012-12-13T08:30:35Z")
> [@Becky2844](#): > > Poetic license. Kids’ hair, especially at their temples, sproing with earnest sweat and naivetee (sp). Kissable. :smack: I see it now, as a picture in my head. It’s sweet! [QUOTE=taskmgr.exe] Can I get that in English, please? [/QUOTE] I’m joking. In the Netherlands we have had same-sex marriage (SSM) since 2001. Often when people argue against SSM they say: “what’s next, people marrying children, polygamy, people marrying their dog?!”. This is called a “slippery slope argument”. A slippery slope argument is generally considered a fallacy: we are not arguing about wether people can marry their dog, and if that comes up at a later time it will be up for debate and subject to the same process as SSM. It would only happen if the majority are in favour, but until that time it is no reason to be against SSM. So, I was joking that you wanted to marry an idea, because, using the slippery slope argument, you thought in the Netherlands you would be allowed to marry ideas. A joke that needs this much explanation is clearly A Very Bad Joke, so I’ll take the whole joke back now ☹ (ETA: I didn’t know which part you didn’t understand, so I just explained everything. Sorry if you know what a slippery slope argument is, or SSM. [QUOTE=MeanOldLady] I don’t even like kids, but “sweet” was the first thing I thought of. [/QUOTE] We won’t tell anyone 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Rala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@Rala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rala)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-when-you-think-of-the-word-child/643827/34 "2012-12-13T15:41:01Z")
I think of a picture, not words - a little girl around eight years old with short blonde hair. Like **MOL** , the first thing I think of is a younger version of myself. When I try for a word, the only one that springs to mind is ‘kid’ … I suppose I’m not very creative. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-when-you-think-of-the-word-child/643827/35 "2012-12-13T15:55:27Z")
child = young person, fully human and cognizant but new and inexperienced; physiologically smaller and still growing. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-when-you-think-of-the-word-child/643827/36 "2012-12-13T17:30:52Z")
Child is not a “baby” - meaning it can walk and talk. But childhood usually ends around puberty. So - probably from about 3 or 4 to age 10 or 11 or so? Of course, if you are a parent they are your “child” as long as you live. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-when-you-think-of-the-word-child/643827/37 "2012-12-13T17:39:02Z")
I used to work with a woman who had a son who was about 14 years old. He was a holy terror. A nasty little bastard. When he wasn’t in school she was always having to call him to ream him out for some horrible thing he’d done, stolen money from her purse, punched out a teacher, whatever. But whenever the school called about his behavior, she’d get all puffed up and call him “MY CHILD.” “Well, I just want you to know that this is MY CHILD you are talking about and MY CHILD could not POSSIBLY have done anything of that sort! MY CHILD could never have thrown a water balloon at that girl!” MY CHILD blahblahblah. When it was perfectly obvious to all that he should have been in juvenile detention. She would never even say “I’ll speak to him and ask his side of the story.” Whenever I hear “child,” I always think of Loretta and her CHILD, who probably now is in prison. ---
**Author:** ![Zelkova](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/34f0e0/32.png) [@Zelkova](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zelkova)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-when-you-think-of-the-word-child/643827/38 "2012-12-13T21:41:04Z")
A small, mournful-looking girl with big dark eyes wearing a nightshirt and holding a stuffed animal by one ear. ---
**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-when-you-think-of-the-word-child/643827/39 "2012-12-13T22:40:40Z")
> [@Zelkova](#): > > A small, mournful-looking girl with big dark eyes wearing a nightshirt and holding a stuffed animal by one ear. Come here mournful girl, let’s get you back to bed. We’ll leave the light on and I’ll sing songs until you fall asleep. ---
**Author:** ![vix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a88e4f/32.png) [@vix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vix)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-when-you-think-of-the-word-child/643827/40 "2012-12-13T23:42:32Z")
I have two children, ages 3 and 6. I think of them. Also: play, innocence, a time of growth and learning. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-when-you-think-of-the-word-child/643827.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-when-you-think-of-the-word-child/643827.md?page=3)