Because children are not fully capable of taking care of themselves, and so there is a norm that all adults (and older children) have a duty of helping and protecting them (even against themselves).
And also because if an adult harms a child, it is much more likely that the victim is innocent and didn’t “deserve” that harm than if the victim is an adult.
(and I don’t think “greater moral value” accurately describes the situation)
Because children are not fully capable of taking care of themselves, and so there is a norm that all adults (and older children) have a duty of helping and protecting them (even against themselves).
And also because if an adult harms a child, it is much more likely that the victim is innocent and didn’t “deserve” that harm than if the victim is an adult.
(and I don’t think “greater moral value” accurately describes the situation)