To the rest of us, a child is a kid under 13.

It should have an emotional appeal.

when it is simply stating the facts of the case.

In America you are not considered an adult until the age of 18.

so a 12 year old tried as an adult is ...?

when you want to entice an emotional response you'll use the more 'weak' sounding term, child, teen, kid, etc. I've heard people call 19 year old people kids, "oh their just kids" to elicit empathy as if they were somehow more innocent because you called them a 'kid'.

The whole point is how the person or people using the term feel about the person in the situation which is why they choose the term they do to describe them.

It's not a stretch to refer to Trayvon as a child.

If you're referring to Trayvon Martin, he was his parents' child, he was under the legal age limit for adulthood, and developmentally it is extremely unlikely that he thought like an adult, reacted like an adult, had an adult level of experience and maturity, and was still under the influence of adolescent hormones. He was a legal and literal dependent, living with his parents.

He was his mother and father's child. And there's no greater loss in all the world.

Does that mean that I don't recognize the fact that she is now a young adult?
No.
But is she my child?
Yes, and she always will be.

That's the way I'm wired.

BHN