why in english language a baby is not considered a person and referred to as "it"? (religion)?

Question

if there are 4 aduslts and 1 child, do u say 5 people???

Answer 1

The baby is still a part of the mother. Now, is it more part mother than it's own entity? That's a matter of opinion

Wait...are you speaking of before birth or after? After, I always say "4 and a half"

Answer 2

It does tend to drive me a little crazy when people refer to a baby as "it", but it seems mainly to occur while the baby is in utero. I still think it's ridiculous, but most people don't even realize they are doing it. If I didn't yet know the sex of the child I would still say "the baby" or "him or her". And yes, 4 adults and one child is 5 people. I imagine most people feel the same.

I am not sure where this fits into religion.

Answer 3

I either say 5 people, or if its for a movie theatre ticket, i say 4 adults and one child. Your question has "religion" in quotes as if you are saying that it depends on ones religion? I'm not sure what you mean exactly, but the only time in the English language where i've heard "it" is maybe before someone knows the sex of the baby in the womb, and i'm sure they didn't mean anything bad by it, just that they didn't know to say he or she yet. No harm.

Answer 4

Um, I do. Depends on the context. At a resteraunt? 5 people and we need a high chair. On an airplane or some place where you'd have to PAY extra for a baby, people tend to say "4 people" and the baby sits on someones lap. It doesn't mean they don't consider the baby is human - but that they don't wanna pay for an extra seat.

Answer 5

I only refer to a Baby as an it when the sex hasnt been discovered yet. But a Baby is most definitely a Human Being and not an "it".

Answer 6

I call a baby "it" because it's so cute and small, and it's a term of love and endearment...when the child gets to a age that they will answer to their name ,them i call them by their name....I also call all of their belonging, little, like I ask,where's your little coat,or would you like a little cup of milk, and so on, I some time slip up and still do it to my older children, the parents....especially my son...he acts like I'm nuts sometime,but I think he still enjoys me pretending he's a little boy, his little 6 yr olddaughter,my grandaughter thinks it's funny and i still do it to her,and when my children were small and (even still now) I'd always say give me a night huggie,or a bye huggie as they were leaving for school,now that they are in their late 20's and early 30's it make them feel like kids again and I told them no matter how old they got , I'd always see them as little and I'd want huggies and suggies...and i do all the grand kids that way too.....and "it" when i say it, is in my eyes a innocent baby angel,I'm referring to.

Answer 7

What an excellent question. I would say four people, one child, up until the child was about seven or so. I do refer to small children as "it"s, perhaps we as a culture recognize that they are not fully or even half-way functioning people, but rather still developing brain parts and such.

Answer 8

English is basically a Germanic language. In German a child is neither masculine nor feminine, but neuter. "Das Kind" is "the child", a neuter form. "Der Sohn" is masculine and "Die Tochter" is feminine (son and daughter).

A baby is naturally non-sexed because it is not yet sexually mature or showing primary or secondary sexual characteristics, so the development of this sexual classification is understandable. It does not indicate humanness or non-humanness. After all, in German, every noun has gender.

Answer 9

Too deep for me friend I think it's a bad habbit people get into and they dont think I did it too until they told me the baby was a boy then I named him and refered to him by name.

Answer 10

Yes it is five people and it is that people tend to think of small children as it as they have very few sexual characteristics that show with their diapers on. Also I've done it when I've seen babies and did not know what sex they were to keep from calling them the wrong one.