How Different Cultures Recognize a Child's Age?

Age is a pivotal factor in deciding the roles and responsibilities of an individual. It helps determine what can and can’t be associated with any person. Therefore, it is crucial to recognize the age of children, especially when transitioning from childhood to boyhood and adulthood, to make them learn what is expected from them as a community. 

Consequently, telling them what norms, rituals, and values they must follow in a specific society becomes easier. Thus, they become responsible and accountable parts of their respective cultures, playing a positive role in the evolution of a culture. Conversely, if this is not done substantially, it can derail societal patterns, creating chaos and disorder. 

Hence, different cultures follow various traditions and symmetries to determine the exact age of children as per their cognitive and physical development to make them a valuable element of society. This blog post will enlighten you on how different cultures decide a child's age.

Approaches of Cultures to Recognize a Child’s Age

The age calculation method is similar in all cultures as they follow their respective calendar types to decide. The age calculation formula is identical as it is the number of years one has lived according to the calendar a culture follows. Let’s see some examples of how age is recognized in different parts of the world.

Western Culture

The Western world follows the Gregorian calendar with one leap year every four years. This solar dating system is used by most of the world. It comprises 365 days. It has 12 months: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December. January, March, May, July, August, October, and December have 31 days, while April, June, September, and November have 30 days, with Feb having 28 days in general and 29 days in the leap year. 

Calculating age using this calendar is very easy. Calculate age by adding the birth date and the date of age recognition to determine the exact age of a child. You can calculate a child age in years, months, days, and hours.

Islamic World

In Islamic culture, a child's age is calculated based on the lunar calendar. The number of lunar years since a child’s birth counts for age. Just like the Gregorian calendar, the lunar calendar also has 12 months named Muharram, Safar, Rabi al-Awwal, Rabi al-Thani, Jumada al-Awwal, Jumada al-Thani, Rajab, Shaban, Ramadan, Shawwal, Dhu al-Qadah and Dhu al-Hijjah. 

Each month of the Islamic calendar usually has 28 or 29 days. And sometimes, there can be 30 days in a month. It depends on the moon sighting. However, the month of Dhu al-Hijjah follows a specific pattern every 30 years. According to this pattern, it has 30 days for 11 years and 29 days for the other 19 years to keep the balance of the calendar in step with the moon's phases.

East Asian Region

East Asian culture follows the Chinese calendar, similar to the Hebrew calendar. It is a solar-lunar calendar with 12 months in the general year and 13 months in a leap year. The usual year consists of 353-355 days, and a leap year has 383-385 days.

As per this calendar, the number of years since birth with the amount of time spent in the womb is frequently used to determine an infant's age in East Asian nations, including China, Japan, and Korea.

A child is regarded as having one year at birth in this system, and they gain another year on the traditional lunar New Year. This implies that a child is deemed to have aged one year, even if they are just a few days or months old at the Lunar New Year. This custom illustrates how important birth and the passage of time are in calculating a child's age in East Asian cultures and underscores the cultural relevance of the lunar calendar.

Final Remarks

These are some different ways that are used to calculate the age of a child in different regions. Therefore, there can be a slight difference between the age of children in various cultures and their roles and responsibilities. We hope this piece has given you new insights into how cultural values do affect children's age and the elements associated with it.