There is foremost an economic motive

Whereas both children and "angels" know no sin, children are ignorant, and angels are inherently unable to sin.

I disagree. There is a story of a heavenly host named Lucifer. You might know him better by the name of... (adopts Church Lady's voice to say) Satan? In fact, so the story goes, Lucifer was not the only heavenly host who sinned against the Father, but had a great many followers, who were ultimately routed to the Abyss by the armies of heaven led by St. Michael. Angels are ancient beings of great intelligence and wisdom and endowed with free will. They are quite able to sin.

Secondly, historically, the age of reason is seven or eight years or age, by which time most people are able to tell the difference between fantasy and reality and between "right" and "wrong." This is why, for example, First Penance and Communion has historically been given at seven. (Baptism soon after birth to save the baby despite the baby not understanding it all, Penance and Communion when the child attained the age of reason, and finally, Confirmation had to wait until the person could be touched by a bishop, which happened the next time the bishop came through.)

That, historically, is "innocence:" The time before the age of reason, when children put on the witness stand talk about preschool teachers playing piano in the nude and molesting them in outer space as though it actually happened. Seven-year-olds, on the other hand, historically chose a profession and began training. David Farragut entered the U.S. Navy as a midshipman at the age of nine on December 17, 1810 (the first Admiral of the U.S. Navy, also known for "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!")

It seems to me that the infantalization of children and young adults in the western world by means of a severely protracted "childhood" is a relatively recent invention, dating from the Victorian era. It is an invention of mass society and industrial economy.

Student