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[Overspeculated]

I don't think children can get exp in any skills other than the social ones, swimmer and grower.

Anyway, dwarves that have a few legendary skills (even mental ones such as the social skills) usually sky-rocket to legendary wrestlers in less than a season in my fortress.

[Ziusudra]

The only child in my current fort has dabbling wrestler; no idea how that happened.

[Taritus]

So, since we have the whole getting kids to train thing somewhat understood, how do we get kids to stray into some place where we can take them hostage?  Can we assign kids beds?

[Grendus]

I've never seen an adult get hurt by a Macaques.  My wood cutter dwarves always mop the floor with them, (admittedly with an axe) so how hard would it be for a child to do it?

Do children have negative modifiers?

I've lost soldiers to macaques early on. Those monkeys can be vicious in numbers, four of them piled onto a low-skill wrestler and one bit his throat out. I've also had them kill war dogs many times. Don't underestimate the monkeys man, they're dangerous.

However, a crippled wild animal might work to train the children a little.

[Ziusudra]

So, since we have the whole getting kids to train thing somewhat understood, how do we get kids to stray into some place where we can take them hostage?  Can we assign kids beds?

Yes, you can, babies even.

[Vicid]

I'm not sure if I even like the idea of having kids make all sorts of friends through socializing.  What's the first thing that happens when a few of my Spartans with tons of friends dies?  I think you get the idea.

Do you get stats from skilling up in hauling? Do kids haul? If so, maybe I could have two rooms: one with rocks and another that's empty.  I will lock the kids in there and demand that the rocks be stockpiled down the hall.  Once in a while I shall pit violent animals in there at varying degrees of health.

[Innominate]

Nope, hauling doesn't give any skill-ups whatsoever. I'm unsure what kids will do when they have the option. Perhaps somebody needs to lock a child alone in a room with all possible labours accessible and ordered and see which ones they will complete. I suspect it comes down to hauling, harvesting and planting.

What about this: a room with a child involved in repeated hauling (or some other activity to occupy them), connected by a hallway to a 5-deep pit. The hallway is 1-wide, lined with a few weapon traps full of low quality hammers. Hopefully the fall and the hammers break enough bones that the creature is injured but not rendered unconscious, so that the child can defeat it. I expect progress would be painfully slow, but at least it gives you a Spartan feel.

[Vester]

Hmm.... They could pick up legendary grower, at the very least.

[pushy]

Yeah, but no non-social skills.

Farming's a social skill?

[Vester]

YOU'RE DAMN RIGHT IT IS

Yeah let me amend that to "no non-social skills except farming."

[Strant]

Can't children deconstruct stuff too?

Try building some walls then locking the kids in and ordering them to deconstruct them.  I'm not sure if this trains mining or masonry.

[Derakon]

Deconstructing trains nothing, just like constructing.

[Funk]

dump them in a 1x1 pit add food,drink,small creatures for fun/skills
i.e.Dark Gnomes,Foxes,Gazelles,gibbons, any thing small and weakish
keep the numbers 2/3-1 to stop dwarf deaths.
only keep the numbers 3-4 or a bad spell of deaths will make for a lot tantrums

[Gergination]

dump them in a 1x1 pit add food,drink,small creatures for fun/skills
i.e.Dark Gnomes,Foxes,Gazelles,gibbons, any thing small and weakish
keep the numbers 2/3-1 to stop dwarf deaths.
only keep the numbers 3-4 or a bad spell of deaths will make for a lot tantrums

Maybe lock them all up in an area by themselves and let them become friends with each other.  Then drop in enough creatures to ensure that a couple of them get killed.  This will cause tantrumming/fist fights to simulate them doing combat amongst themselves.  The ones that survive this stage and/or don't go insane are the only ones fit for life as a dwarf.  I suspect very few will make it.

[nil]

Maybe lock them all up in an area by themselves and let them become friends with each other.  Then drop in enough creatures to ensure that a couple of them get killed.  This will cause tantrumming/fist fights to simulate them doing combat amongst themselves.  The ones that survive this stage and/or don't go insane are the only ones fit for life as a dwarf.  I suspect very few will make it.

Who survives tantrums has a lot to do with personality, too, so you'd basically be artificially selecting for the most hardcore S.O.Bs around