[Kitten4u Only With A Long Name]

This thread details how children grow up and what they can expect from birth to adulthood. These are simply the common experiences, and everyone's experience will be a little bit different.

Table of Contents
Conception (covers courting, birth control options, adoption and orphans, what happens when a baby is born)
Toddlerhood (covers early life and childcare)
Schooling (covers the function of school, what's taught, how it's taught, what's important in school)
Entering Adulthood (covers what a young adult can expect when they leave school, brief mention of societal pressures)

[Kitten4u Only With A Long Name]

Conception

The people of New Sumatra, mutations and all, are completely human. They reproduce the same way humans do. This section is not about that, and if you need a refresher about the birds and the bees use Google. Instead, this section is about what leads to conception, the options parents have, and what to expect with birth.

Courtship is similar to how it is in the real world. There are plenty of ways for people to meet, whether it be through work, hobbies, happening to be in the same place at the same time, the internet, and pretty much every way that exists in the real world. There are even dating sites each with their own unique gimmick to try to match people. Marriage itself is viewed roughly the same: a religious ceremony for some, a declaration of true love for others, and only used for legal benefits for others. Whether or not the couple get married has no bearing on whether they can have children, with the only benefits being hospital visitation, easy inheritance laws (so they don't have to write a will), and a very slight increase to their wage floor. The child's biological parents also have no bearing on who their legal parents are. For most children they are one in the same, but adoption is an option for parents that can't conceive or just don't want to go through the trouble of carrying one for nine months.

When a baby is conceived, it's normally because the parents want to have a baby. There were several worries of over-population and the sustainability of the city before magic emerged again, so the government took precautions to slow the birth rate. Temporary birth control is freely available to both men and women, as are male and female condoms. More permanent forms of birth control are also free and only require a doctor's appointment and signing a consent form. The age of the requester for both of these things doesn't matter as long as they've hit puberty, and it doesn't require parental permission for anyone underage. People have questioned the ethics of allowing children to get these procedures, but with the scare of not being able to support the city anymore, it wasn't concerning enough to examine it. With the discovery of magic and the ruins, this is less of an issue than it used to be and the law is being looked at again. However, for the time being, anyone can get it.

Because it's so easy to avoid pregnancy the need for abortion and adoption services are rare. They are both available for anyone that wants it, with abortion services being subsided because of the overpopulation scare. Adoption is more expensive for both the biological parent and the parent that wants to adopt, but not prohibitively so. The people living off of minimum wage and the base wage floor probably couldn't afford it, but the average middle class family wouldn't have any trouble. The mother just needs to carry the baby to term, pay the fee, and workers will take the baby. If a home was found before the baby's birth, they'll go home with their new parents. If not, they'll go to a group home of sorts. There are rare exceptions, most notably, babies with severe disabilities. If their parents don't want to keep them, and they'd just be a drain on the system because of the extensive care they'd need, the baby is often killed. Sometimes they'll be used for scientific development along with the aborted fetuses, but their prognosis is never good. Such information is hidden from the general public in fear of a backlash, but it continues to happen because how important resource management is. There is not enough to go around in order for this babies to be able to live comfortable, productive lives.

Orphans, whether it's because they were put up for adoption and didn't find a home or because their parents died or disappeared somehow, live together in groups of up to 20. They're separated by age, with babies under the age of 1 in one group, 1-2 in another, 3-5 in another, 6-10 in another, and 10-14 in another, and 14-18 in the last. Each group has 12 caretakers that work 4 hour shifts in pairs 7 days a week. This is to give the children some consistency in their environment as they grow. Half of the caretakers are male and half are female and work in male/female pairs. The homes are much larger than the average person's home to accommodate the number of people living together and that they can't leave the house as easily, thus needing a bit of extra space for entertainment.

For parents that do keep their children, childcare is part of the wage floor provided by the government. However, it only covers the hours that both parents (or the one parent taking care of the child if there's only one) are working. After that, they have to pay. Leaving children under the age of 13 unattended is illegal and could result in the children being taken away if found out. There are options available 24 hours a day 7 days a week, so there are very few excuses for leaving children home along. Sometimes exceptions are made for emergencies, but they are rare and must be severe.

Because doctors normally make house calls, babies are typically born at home. If the woman goes into labor in public places, efforts are made to get her home so she can give birth comfortably, and with cellphone technology contacting a doctor anywhere is easily done. Midwives are considered a specialty with in the medical industry, so there are enough people (typically women) chosen for this profession that there's rarely, if ever, a shortage. They're abundant enough that they tend to have other tasks to do so that they're not idle too long. They do what they can to make the birth go smoothly, much like how it goes in the real world. The main difference is there's a little more effort put into trying to keep the floor clean.

When a baby is born several legal things happen. A birth certificate is made with the names of the biological parents on it. If the mother does not know who the father is, she picks someone she thinks is likely and that's put down instead. The proposed father has no legal obligations towards the child, so it's mostly to keep the paperwork orderly and to be able to give a name if the child asks in the future. They're also given a bank account. The account number acts as a personal identification number, not too different from the way a social security number works in the United States. The number isn't even given to the parents, and the child has to go get it themselves once they turn 18. Until then, the account is dormant. The child is still given the amount that every person gets as apart of the wage floor every year, but it cannot be touched until that child turns 18, and even then it can only be touched by the child (or anyone they're stupid enough to give their bank account number to). By the time they're 18, there should be enough money in the account for them to live on their own for the two years they might not have a job as long as they're not wasteful or try to live too lucratively. The last important legal thing is a basic check of the baby's health and immune function. This is to make sure they don't have any life-threatening conditions or anything that could easily spread to other people, as well as knowing how susceptible they are to disease and how careful they need to be to not spread it should the child get sick.

[Kitten4u Only With A Long Name]

Toddlerhood

The early part of a child's life is their least eventful. For the most part, they stay with their parents, or in a group home if they don't have parents, and grow up much like any child would in the real world. Children are encouraged to try lots of different things, and parents are encouraged to watch and see what their children can do. This is to see if the child has some kind of aptitude for something that may be useful to nurture as they grow up. That said, not much stock is put into the parents' opinion of what the child can do as they tend to exaggerate how great their child is.

Their parents aren't the only ones watching to see what the child can do however. Childcare is provided during the hours both parents are working (or the one parent if there's only one), and after that it costs money. While the child is in childcare, the caretakers are supposed to watch and see what they can do as well. Child care workers and the caretakers at group homes for orphans work 4 hour shifts 7 days a week in order to make sure there's some consistency for the children. They work in pairs, one male one female, in groups of no more than 20 children. The children are divided up by age: babies under the age of 1 in one group, 1-2 in another, 3-5 in another, 6-10 in another, and 10-14 in another. After that the children are considered old enough to take care of themselves at home, though group homes do have one more group for the 14-18 year olds so that they have a place to live until adulthood.

It's rare for very young children (under 5) to display any notable gifts, but it does give a preview for what their skills and interests may be later in life. The workers at the daycares and group homes are expected to take notes and hand off these notes to the child's teachers once they start schooling. Determining a child's skills early in life is important so that those skills can be nurtured and so it'll be easier to determine what career path they should be assigned once they reach adulthood. This isn't heavily scrutinized while they're very young, but becomes a much bigger deal as they get older.

[Kitten4u Only With A Long Name]

Schooling

Schooling has two purposes in New Sumatra. The first is bringing everyone up to a certain baseline of knowledge so that society can function more easily. The second is to examine the students and figure out which types of subjects and tasks they're good at. As a result, school is far more than just a student's grades, it's also looking at what else they can do so that it's clear what job they should be assigned in adulthood. As a result, academics aren't the only thing valued. Creativity, social skills, and even physical prowess is also looked at.

Schooling starts when the child is 5 years old with the cutoff date for determining when they start being January 1. If they are 5 on January 1, they start that year. If they are still 4, but turn 5 later that year, they start school the next year. The school year starts the second week of the year and continues year round until the end of the second week of December. To compensate for this, students only go to school 4 days a week (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday), and get a week off during the spring equinox, summer solstice, and the autumn equinox. Technically they get the winter solstice off too, but that's during the month long period at the end of the year. Many religions have holidays during that time, so students get a much longer break for those.

Early on, until about age 11 or so, academics are considered far more important and teachers need to make sure students understand the material and keep their grades up. That's because the information taught in those early years is necessary for basic functioning in society, including reading, basic math, home care, cooking, civics, history, basic health, basic sciences, basic fitness, city layout and geography, basic art, basic music, and writing. At this stage, teachers are teaching students how to be functional in society. By the time they finish their basic schooling, students should largely be able to take care of themselves, though they're considered too irresponsible at the age of 11 to be left alone for too long. The variety of classes also means that teachers have a better idea of what each student is good at and what they should be encouraged to move towards. Sometimes, kids will be nudged into more advanced classes if they show promise in a particular subject, with additional classes being offered on off days if the student wants to accelerate their learning further. It's not unusual for younger students to be put in classes with older students if they're ready for that material, so most students don't bat an eye when a younger student is brought into their class.

After the basics, until the age of 14, students start to narrow down the classes they take. Requirements are much less stringent, allowing students to take whatever classes interest them. It doesn't matter how hard or easy they are, because at this point it's more about figuring out which job to place them in than it is academics. For students that struggled in their early schooling, this time is also used to catch them up on whichever subjects they need. Other than that, it's completely the student's, and their family's, choice. If they're not sure what to take, they can ask their teachers for suggestions, or just take a little of everything.

Teacher's have another important purpose at this level. They are still supposed to teach and figure out which job the student would be good at, but they're also supposed to discourage students from going into certain subjects. If a student with an interesting in theater is complete tone deaf and hams it up to cringy levels, the teacher is expected to be completely honest, to the point of being outright cruel, until that student either gets better or picks a different subject. Grades start mattering less at this point as well. If a student starts failing the class, they're not helped. In fact their completely ignored in favor of the students that actually show promise with the subject. If their grades get too low, they're removed from the subject and need to pick a different one. The students aren't treated like failures however, just that they're not good at that particular thing and they should focus on what they're actually good at.

Once they're 14, they enter the last phase in their schooling. They're given the option to continue a more generalized education, like they have been for the last few years, or to have more specialized job training. The latter is treated much like an apprenticeship. If they already have a job they have their eyes on, and teachers confirm that they have a reasonable skillset for it, they can work with people that are actually in the field. Most days they work as an apprentice of sorts, and then on one of their school days they're in a more traditional classroom environment to fill in the theoretical gaps. There's something setup for every job, even for things like customer service and sanitation.

Once the student turns 18, their schooling is done and they're free to enter the world. They have two years to find a job on their own, and after that they'll be assigned one. Higher education options exist, but they're fairly expensive for anyone that isn't using it as job training. If someone is assigned to a job that requires further education, such as becoming a doctor, their continued education is free, but that's not the case for everyone else. As a result, and because everyone gets a job regardless of education level, it's uncommon for people to seek it. The ones that do either need it for their job, or are just natural academics that enjoy school and go to school as a hobby.

[Kitten4u Only With A Long Name]

Entering Adulthood

Once someone turns 18 and finishes their last year of schooling, they're considered an adult. At that point, there are no age-based legal restrictions they have to worry about. IE, they can vote, buy alcohol, see movies with an adult restriction, etc. When any baby is born, a bank account is created for them. That account number functions as a personal identification number, much like a social security number in the United States. While the baby grows, money is placed into that account equal to the wage floor for every person in the city. No one can touch that money until the baby turns 18, goes to a government office, and gets their account number and access to it. By that time, there's enough money in that account for the person to live for about two years without further income while they look for a job, as long as they don't live too extravagantly.

Because they have enough money for their own apartment and can support themselves, young adults are generally don't live with their families anymore. Sometimes it's done, but most of the time they want to embrace their independence, and parents feel the need to make them spread their wings. Even if the young adult wants to stay, it's rare for parents to let them, fearing that they'll remain dependent on them for too long.

After graduating from school, they have 2 years to find a job on their own before they are assigned one. During their schooling, they should have gotten some idea of what kind of job they'd be good at, or at least what they might be interested in, so some start looking immediately. Others take this two year period to discover themselves, explore the city, and try to experience as many things as they can in their new adult-like state. Once that two year period is done, if they haven't found a job, they will be assigned one, so there's no need to try too hard to find a job. The only reason to work hard there is if the person wants an unconventional job in a place that isn't highly valued, such as if they want to work in the entertainment industry or start their own business. Trying to do those things while also having to work a full time job makes it much more difficult to get anything done, so this two year period is important to people with such ambitions.

For most people, their job is how they contribute to society. Thus, apart from perhaps some religious beliefs the person may hold, there aren't too many other societal pressures on how someone should live. At most, there's some pressure to vote in elections. With the overpopulation scare, parents pressuring children into getting married and having children of their own has lessened. Some parents obviously will still do so, but it's not very common anymore. For the most part, people are free to live their lives and are encouraged to do what they enjoy while they're not working.