EnglishClub TEFL Forums (archived)

Hi, I teach reading/writing on Cape Cod in the US. I ran into a question of whether to use the word "children" or "child" in this situation. The word in question will be in all caps. I chose the form I believe is correct. I' asked a few people but received different answers. I am a native speaker. Thanks in advance for your help.

There are multiple married couples each having one child. All the children are in danger. Here is the sentence:

The parents agreed that they wouldn't visit their own CHILDREN until they knew every child's fate.

Thank you.

You could try rewriting to get out of this bind:

Each married couple/parental couple agreed that they wouldn't visit their own CHILD until they knew every child's fate.

Each married couple/parental couple agreed that they wouldn't visit their own CHILD until they knew the fate of every child.