also: わらんべ · わらわ
Dated term for a child; now mostly used in set phrases, songs, or literary contexts. In modern Japanese, 子供 is the usual word.
We sang a children's song and played.
昔話には、わらべがよく登場する。
Children often appear in old tales.
大人 means 'adult', the natural opposite of 童, which refers to a child in an old-fashioned or literary sense.
counter for people
Standard kanji spelling for the reading わらべ.
Archaic reading; rarely used in modern Japanese.
Archaic reading; may appear in historical or literary contexts.
Kana spelling is common in modern usage, especially in compounds like わらべ歌.
The origin is uncertain. The kanji 童 has long been used for 'child', and the reading わらべ is native Japanese.