my book and heart shall never part

We "answered" the question, "what is a child?" And even though everyone came up with a different answer, there is no right answer as we all know. And after seeing the movie on Thursday it only provoked more questions, for me as least. This may seem a bit demented or perhaps uncalled for, and before asking this I have to make clear that it's all based around the question "what is a child?" And not meaning the physical younger human being, but the idea of a "child."

Ok now that I've explained myself here's my question: "Is a child expendable?" Are children just figments of our imagination? Creating a hope in the adult mind of innocence, and guilt free conscience? Are children a one time only thing, that is tainted after their first experience outside the mothers womb? And is a child even a child inside the mother or is it just a soul-anima-of the mother that is carring it, waiting to bring a miniture human into an adult world?

Whatever the answer may be, it is hard to grasp the concept of a child outside of what I have grown up thinking. Or maybe it is just that I haven't thought outside of my prior knowlegde of a child, and doven deeper into the quesiton more psychologically, or methophorically, rather than physically.