Biologically, a child (plural: children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty. 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".
There are many social issues that affect children, such as childhood education, bullying, child poverty, dysfunctional families, child labor, hunger, and child homelessness. Children can be raised by parents, by fosterers, guardians or partially raised in a day care center.
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". This is ratified by 192 of 194 member countries.
Biologically, a child is generally anyone between birth and puberty. 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.