AngleBaby said:You are both wrong. Puberty was around 12 and child bearing began at the same time. Reason is, child mortality was so high, that women had to bread a large number of kids, by our standards, just to maintain the population. Environmental factors that stress people can cause even earlier puberty, as the body responds by saying 'Okay, gotta breed now, because my future aint looking that bright'. Evolution also favored early motherhood, as that meant more children could be born in a life span, which wasn't that long to start with.
A paradigm shift in the late 19'th century pushed the time at which one becomes an adult back and today, we wish to give everyone the chance to remain a child as long as possible. So even though physically, child bearing is possible, it would impact the psychological health of the child in terms of what we consider normal. The child would also have a diminished chance at an education. So on and so forth.
I agree, we shouldn't touch children, but lets stay honest about the reasons as to why, otherwise others will argue they should.
What AB said is right on the mark. Things have changed since the middle ages and children have a chance to grow, in all respects, mentally and physically. Trouble is they don't seem to be taking advantage of it.