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40d:Children
Dwarves are considered children for their first twelve years. They learn how to become a dwarf through living in and participating in dwarven society with no formal schools, apprenticeships or other formal learning; even parenting seems quite minimal.
In fortress mode, some migrant dwarves are married and may bring children. Children who immigrate to your fortress might be any age from 2 to 12, and there is no way to determine the age of a child.
"Resident" dwarves may also give birth to children. This can be stopped or reduced by editing the init file. Dwarves even can have miscarriages, which, not surprising, causes an unhappy thought, but, surprisingly, not for the father.
Some fortresses seem to have a higher fertility rate than others.
Labor
Children may not be assigned any labors, but perform some activities without any intervention:
- socialising, through arranging parties in meeting halls;
- harvesting crops, if the 'All dwarves harvest' order is on;
- removing constructions (such as walls, floors, ramps);
- pulling levers;
- filling designated ponds;
- hauling items to the trade depot;
- eating, drinking, and sleeping as necessary.
Children may not be assigned to the nobility.
Diet
Children seem to eat and drink with similar preferences to adult dwarves, including a preference for alcohol over plain water.
Kidnapping
Children are also the target of goblin snatchers, who will sneak into your fortress and try to kidnap the young dwarf in a sack. Like stolen objects, children who are removed from the map are lost forever.
Moods
Strange moods affect children in the same way as adults. Experience gained through a strange mood will lead to the dwarf having legendary skill in either woodcrafting, bone carving or stonecrafting, depending on the artifact made.
Adulthood
At the age of twelve, children become adult dwarves. While most then become unskilled peasants, those who have successfully completed a strange mood other than possession will become legendary Craftsdwarves; those who help in harvesting plants throughout childhood may have built up sufficient experience points in the grower skill to become Planters.
Dwarven parenthood
As an oversight in programming, children's parents can become so preoccupied with finding their children that they can die of thirst. This is aimed to be fixed at a later update.