How much of a kid is Spike?

[SteveMorison 404]

Spike is presented in the show as a baby dragon, and has many moments of immaturity (e.g. Princess Spike), but at the same time he comes across in many episodes as having a degree of independence and able to interact with adult ponies without being looked down upon as "just a kid". The Equestria Girls movie showed his more mature side at times and he is also given several responsibilities throughout the show such as being Twilight's assistant, taking care of the pets with the mane 6 away, unspecified royal business and lighting the equestria games torch. Spike doesn't seem like a kid in the same way that the CMC are kids for example and tbh if the Mane 6 are considered adults with some of what they get up to then Spike doesn't seem far behind.

Edited June 25, 2015 by DashBandicoot

[chirox the pony 1,336]

Simply put it all depends on what conveniences the story because half the time the writers couldn't seem to care less about Spike.

[Conred 274]

Enough to not have chances with Rarity. Probably around CMC age

[Salacberry 90]

I definitely think he's a teenager maturity-wise - around the age of 15 maybe. I feel that he's older than the CMC, who I headcanon as about 12-13, and he is definitely younger than the mane six. While he does have his immature moments, he does have responsibilities and a fair degree of independence as you've mentioned, so I think 15 is a decent guess.

 

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 41,803]

He definitely does seem to have the intelligence of at least a child, a child raised by the smartest pony ever at least. Considering that he is still a 'baby' dragon, it is weird to call him such a thing considering his intelligence but of course he has many moments of fumbling. This is why I hope eventually we see an episode that details dragons a bit more in this regard. Spike doesn't even seem close in age to the 'teenage' dragons that we have seen already.

 

The whole age conundrum has always been a point of confusion for me because of his obvious intelligence.

[Ribbonfree 2,383]

My personal take on it tended towards a literal interpretation of 'baby' dragon, and assuming that dragons were already fairly cognizant even as babies but simply far behind on their maturity scale. With what's been said so far I've had a bit of food for thought. We know that there are examples of straight up teenage dragons in Dragon Quest and they're physiologically super different, but at the same time they seem to be in a similar maturity phase as Spike so it's possible to attribute the body differences to diet and lifestyle... Not sure anything can be definitely derived from canon, so I'd stand by my personal appraisal of it.

[Snake 516]

To me, Spike actually seems really smart and mature for his "age".
People tend to see him as around 10, but he seems smarter than that.
Though, on the other hand, he's still very immature.

Dragons grow by greed, right? So since he's not growing, he stays the way he is, but still gathers knowledge. 
It's like staying the same age and have the same thought process (of a child) but having all the knowledge of somebody older.

 

This is my take on it, anyway.

[Cwanky 17,602]

On the contrary. Spike is merely understood and viewed as a baby by Twilight and other ignorant ponies. The show itself very much presents Spike as a mature and knowledgeable individual, whose somewhere between an adolescent like the CMCs and a teen. At times he's actually shown to be more mature than other supposedly adult characters.

 

If Spike was truly presented as a baby, he wouldn't have the responsibilities that he does. Spike is very much a mature character for his age. The disparity comes more from the characters on the show rather than the audience itself.

[Poetic Stone 1,041]

Spike can act like a kid at times, but he is a dragon, and does anypony know how old he is. I mean yes he is portrayed as a baby, but Dragons age slowly, and live for long periods of time. Spike can be pretty smart at times, and has a good head on his shoulders, all hail spike.

[Skyling 14]

 

 

To me, Spike actually seems really smart and mature for his "age". People tend to see him as around 10, but he seems smarter than that. Though, on the other hand, he's still very immature.

 

I think that actually makes a lot of sense, considering where and how Spike has grown up - as in, following Twilight Bookworm Sparkle around for the most part. Physically he should be around the CMC age, but he seems generally smarter because he would have absorbed decent amounts of knowledge and mannerisms from Twilight via osmosis. Including her snark.

 

He is smart, because he has spent lots of time around knowledge of various sorts and looking up to Twilight to various degrees, but at the same time he is still emotionally immature - because he is young, which tends to show often enough. So he is smart because he genuinely knows a lot (and probably has been exposed alot to serious work ethic), but he is also emotionally immature because that's how children/young teens are.

[Grumpy Enchantress 587]

He's 18 years old. He'll be 19 in August.

[Freewave 1,145]

Gotta remember too that Spike's selfishness has been pointed to be part of his dragon heritage. While some may find than he's been weened of that by ponies I'm sure that's part of the reason he consistently falls on selfish behavior in episode after episode. 

Edited June 27, 2015 by Freewave