Why do you think Spike is a child?

[hironakamura 126]

I visit a lot of mlp forums and each forum seems to all have very torn and varied opinions about Spike's age. So the question is the title. Why do you think he's a child?

 

For me, I don't deny that he is a baby dragon. But I do not compare him to a baby pony or a child pony like the CMC because he has the mental maturity on par even with the main ponies he hangs out with.

 

In my opinion Spike is not a child because of the following reasons.

 

- He has a strong sense of responsibility and is Twilight Sparkle's assistant rather than her burden.

- He takes care of her by doing chores like cooking and cleaning rather than the other way around.

- Twilight would occasionally send Spike to Canterlot by himself on royal business that could last for days as mentioned in "Look Before you Sleep."

- He can talk to Canterlot elite like Hoity Toity and was able to convince him to watch Rarity's fashion show even though it meant Hoity Toity would travel from Canterlot to Ponyville as in "Suited for Success."

- He was the only character that knew to do the right thing in "Lesson Zero" to save Twilight exhibiting more maturity than even the other 5 ponies.

- Spike has exceptional cooking skills where he prepares the ponies food in "Over a Barrel", "A Bird in the Hoof", "Owls Well that Ends Well" and "Dragon Quest."

- He was assigned an important responsibility as Pageant Narrator in "Hearths Warming Eve."

- He has no curfew in "Secret of my Excess" because Twilight went to bed and did not wait up for him to come home after Spike had his first growth spurt.

- His crush on Rarity is not looked down upon by any pony. Even Twilight encourages and supports him as shown in "Boast Busters."

 

I may have missed a few. That's all I could remember from the top of my head. I have to check my mp4 collection of the episodes. I know he's done a few nutty things in the past but has he done anything less mature than Pinkie or RD would have done?

 

Anyway, another argument against Spike being a child is the amount of manual labor the ponies make him do. If he really is a child then the ponies would be guilty of child abuse or forced child labor.

 

Another interesting thing about Spike is how he physically matures. See below.

 

Since Spike was raised by ponies instead of being a wild dragon, he never learned to act like other dragons. In "Secret of my Excess," Spike learns to hoard by instinct and this causes him to transform into a huge rampaging dragon. He couldn't control it because it was all instinct and couldn't understand what was happening to his body. In "Dragon Quest," it is revealed that dragons practice aggression, dominance and basically being an all around jerk as the normal acceptable ways of their species. Basically, everything that Spike is not.

 

So if Spike was never raised by ponies and instead grew up as a normal feral dragon, by this time he would be a very large dragon that steals phoenix eggs and bullies every creature he sees into giving up their stuff for his hoard. He might even be challenging other dragons for territory or hoard dominance like when they played King of the Hoard but in a winner take all death match sort of way.

 

TLDR, Why do you think he is a child?

Edited April 7, 2012 by hironakamura

[Champion RD92 8,658]

I wouldn't call him a child..I would say he's maybe the equivalent of a 12/13 year old?

[TomokoKuroki 1,707]

He is physically a child, though he is very mature for such a young dragon. To what Rainbowdash92 said I have a feeling dragons live to be 1000's of years old, and if not, they most likely have a longer life span than ponies, so I would still say he's be a baby or child dragon for quite a while. but he is older mentally

[f0rcabarca 11]

I guess that's what becomes of you when you hang around in a Library with Twi...

[tejntanga 42]

Reckon Dragon babies are far more mature than human, or pony babies. Actual ages in the show are a little fuzzy, but I'd say he's about 6, or so? With that being analogous with... I'd say about a 12, 13 year old boy, like RD92 suggested.

 

Baby dragon? Yes.

Child? Not quite.

[Champion RD92 8,658]

So mentally he is the same age as the mane 6, but physically he is a child?

 

It seems to me like that is what you were implying

Edited April 7, 2012 by RainbowDash92

[Daedric Pony 165]

My guess is that random people would think of Spike as a child because of some bad first impressions from episode 1. But after reading your thread, and considering he is younger than all the other ponies because he was hatched when they were all fillies, maybe he is too mature? In the Eragon universe dragons are extremely mature and wise for their age because they have sentient thoughts whilst still in their eggs. Young in age but ancient in their thoughts...

 

Woaah look at me thinking too hard. It's because that how the show writers wrote him! HA!

[hironakamura 126]

So mentally he is the same age as the mane 6, but physically he is a child?

 

It seems to me like that is what you were implying

 

Actually if just compared to Rainbow Dash or Pinkie Pie, Spike is really more mature in terms of sense of responsibility because RD is lazy and reasoning because Pinkie Pie, as adorable as she may be, isn't the most reasonable pony on the show.

 

He is physically a child, though he is very mature for such a young dragon. To what Rainbowdash92 said I have a feeling dragons live to be 1000's of years old, and if not, they most likely have a longer life span than ponies, so I would still say he's be a baby or child dragon for quite a while. but he is older mentally

 

I just realized Spike was actually more mature than compared to Garble or any of the dragons he met.

Edited April 7, 2012 by hironakamura

[hironakamura 126]

My guess is that random people would think of Spike as a child because of some bad first impressions from episode 1. But after reading your thread, and considering he is younger than all the other ponies because he was hatched when they were all fillies, maybe he is too mature? In the Eragon universe dragons are extremely mature and wise for their age because they have sentient thoughts whilst still in their eggs. Young in age but ancient in their thoughts...

 

Woaah look at me thinking too hard. It's because that how the show writers wrote him! HA!

 

Wait THAT'S TOTALLY COOL! I don't know anything about Eragon but If that's true and Celestia has had Spike's egg for who knows how many years used as an exam item, then Spike would indeed be... older than the main ponies?

 

Anyway, I know Hasbro's dragon lore in FiM is roughly borrowed from D&D dragon lore. I mean the dragons hoarding instincts and greedy behavior is kind of like how they would describe dragons in a D&D monster manual. So it might not be the same for Eragon universe.

Edited April 7, 2012 by hironakamura

[TomokoKuroki 1,707]

So mentally he is the same age as the mane 6, but physically he is a child?

 

It seems to me like that is what you were implying

 

Yes, that is exactly what I said. Though I think he is slightly younger mentally than say Twilight specifically, and the mane 6. But not too far off.

[SBaby 660]

Well, if you go by D&D standards (Lauren Faust and Craig McCracken are D&D fans), baby Dragons are generally older than alot of people think. And let's not kid each other. Spike isn't a hatchling anymore. He's at least (and most likely) Very Young, which is the second Age Category of Dragons. Which would put him anywhere from 6 to 15 years old. He's probably closer to 8 or 9ish at present, given his voice and his tendancy to still act immature at times. Which makes sense when you consider that Twilight was a filly when she hatched him.

 

Also remember that Dragons are typically far more intelligent than most other races. Though as the show has illustrated, some Dragons are exceptions to this. Seriously, Dragons stealing Phoenix eggs... That's about the DUMBEST thing a Dragon could EVER do. Those three will likely never be seen again, because they are probably dead.

[Starswirl the Trixie 975]

Spike was hatched the day that Twilight got her cutie mark.

 

So I'd say that he's around the age of 12-14. Reptiles develop faster than mammals, though, so he is a bit more mature than that. Event the exceptionally long lifespan of dragons would not limit the more rapid early development that reptiles have, I think.

Edited April 7, 2012 by Starswirl the goateed

[butter scotch 79]

Maybe he is a child BUT the fact he was raised via magic may have an influence?

[ⓡⓐⓘⓝⓓⓡⓞⓟⓢ 25]

he's a child because like 2 or 3 years ago twilight sparkle used her magic to open his egg at an audition to get into a magic school.

Edited April 7, 2012 by lemoncloud123

[Twi Rubix 726]

Twilight keeps saying Spike is a baby dragon, and it might be true because the teenage dragons are alot bigger than him. So Spike could be no more than 12 I'd say. Besides, Zecora says dragons age by greed, right? So I guess it all depends on the stuff he gets.

[hironakamura 126]

he's a child because like 2 or 3 years ago twilight sparkle used her magic to open his egg at an audition to get into a magic school.

 

That didn't happen 2 to 3 years ago. That happened a looooong time ago.

[Eenohay 318]

I wouldn't call him a child..I would say he's maybe the equivalent of a 12/13 year old?

 

That's exactly a child.

 

 

texty

 

Apart from the crush on Rarity thing I agree with everything (It's just because he's a child that Twilight and the other ponies think it's cute instead of creepy that a dragon would like a pony). He certanly doesn't act at all like a child. A child could never be so responsible. Besides we all now Dragons age very slowly. In The City of the Dreaming Books, Hildegunst is a teenager at 70 years old, and that clearly explains why they call him baby dragon even though he's clearly not a baby.

 

But as good as your arguments might be, he was born about 10 years ago, or maybe a couple more, but the point is he certanly is younger than the mane 6 and probably 10-12 years old. I have no idea why he is so responsible, but he is. And yes, the mane 6 treats him like crap.

 

Well, if you go by D&D standards (Lauren Faust and Craig McCracken are D&D fans), baby Dragons are generally older than alot of people think. And let's not kid each other. Spike isn't a hatchling anymore. He's at least (and most likely) Very Young, which is the second Age Category of Dragons. Which would put him anywhere from 6 to 15 years old. He's probably closer to 8 or 9ish at present, given his voice and his tendancy to still act immature at times. Which makes sense when you consider that Twilight was a filly when she hatched him.

 

Also remember that Dragons are typically far more intelligent than most other races. Though as the show has illustrated, some Dragons are exceptions to this. Seriously, Dragons stealing Phoenix eggs... That's about the DUMBEST thing a Dragon could EVER do. Those three will likely never be seen again, because they are probably dead.

 

I've been thinking and I've come to the conclusion that Phoenix are naturally the enemies of Dragons. Sure, they are waaaaaaaaaay smaller, but they seem to be just if not even more powerful as them. I can totally see Dragons killing them before birth in order not to have to deal with them after.

[Hatguy 38]

I always assumed that baby was a physical condition brought on by Spike being raised by ponies and never being greedy (except for the time he was) and while his mental age may be slightly advanced for his age dragons in mythology tend to be very wise which and reptiles on earth tend to mature faster than mammals, both of these things could explain his perceived mental maturity. Spike is mentally as mature as the mane 6 (maybe early 20's) but he will physically remain a baby unless he succumbs to greed.

[hironakamura 126]

Apart from the crush on Rarity thing I agree with everything (It's just because he's a child that Twilight and the other ponies think it's cute instead of creepy that a dragon would like a pony). He certanly doesn't act at all like a child. A child could never be so responsible. Besides we all now Dragons age very slowly. In The City of the Dreaming Books, Hildegunst is a teenager at 70 years old, and that clearly explains why they call him baby dragon even though he's clearly not a baby.

 

But as good as your arguments might be, he was born about 10 years ago, or maybe a couple more, but the point is he certanly is younger than the mane 6 and probably 10-12 years old. I have no idea why he is so responsible, but he is. And yes, the mane 6 treats him like crap.

 

Everyone in Ponyville probably knows about his crush on Rarity. Well, at least the ponies he hangs out with do. And after all this time, none of them have ever crush blocked him saying he's too young or that its strange for a dragon to have a crush on a unicorn. Given their relationship with dragons as a species, its already strange that a dragon is living among them and nobody seems to mind.

 

"Boast Busters" is a good example of how Twilight supports Spike's crush on Rarity. After Spike tried to impress Rarity with his fake mustache and fails, Twilight tells him to not rely on the mustache and instead just be himself. To me this means Twilight doesn't treat it like a little boy with a crush on his teacher. Twilight made it sound like he actually has a shot... otherwise she would just be setting him up for failure...

 

Other than that, yeah, they do treat him like crap. Which makes me sad because he is my favorite character.

[Beth Sycamore 28]

I would not say that Spike is a "baby" or a "child",but what I would say is that he is a Young Dragon. Also,Spike is an exception,as a dragon being raised by,and living with ponies.

[Fox 5,330]

He sometimes acts childish, but does represent himself as being responsible most times.

[Dreadmallon 353]

More responsible than teenagers these days, letalone children.

[hironakamura 126]

[cuteycindyhoney 13,306]

I visit a lot of mlp forums and each forum seems to all have very torn and varied opinions about Spike's age. So the question is the title. Why do you think he's a child?

 

Well, the main hint is that they say it multiple times in many episodes. He is not an adult dragon. He's a baby. Just because his mind is developed enough to reason on a teen/preteen level, doesn't mean his body is mature. I'd guess his body is around eight years old, judging by how old Twilight looked when her magic hatched him out. He also exhibits behavior like a young child. He has trouble keeping awake past sunset, and has an over riding fondness for ice cream, taking full advantage when Twilight could not stop him from over-eating.

 

His character is much like James "Jim" Hawking in the anime "Outlaw Star" and Mamoru Shimesu from "Phantom Quest Corp" both are eleven year old kids who are steady and dependable aids, ready to keep the main adult characters on an even keel with day to day affairs.

Edited April 8, 2012 by cuteycindyhoney

[Squeaker 89]

If Twilight hatched him when she was six or so, I'm guessing he is maybe 15-ish? I didn't put too much thought into why he is a "child" or a baby dragon, because one of my big interests is dragons (egghead alert) and I've read tons of books on them and general consensus is that they live much longer, so despite his age in pony/human years, he has alot of growing to do, I think over hundreds or thousands of years emotionally at least compared to the maturity rate of ponies, which seems to be equivalent to that of humans. It would seem that physical maturity of dragons in Equestria-universe is related to greed though, so the question here is more a differentiation between emotional child, mental child, and physical child.