So, if killing children is "cruel", does that mean that killing adults isn't? Guess what, in the real world I can kill children (and old ladies, and cute little kittens). The fact that I choose not to says something about me. Choice (not the lack of it) is what builds and shows a person's character.

I could understand not including children at all (it would save time during development, since it would reduce the number of models, clothes, animations, etc.). But this decision is motivated purely by commercial reasons, and any justifications presented now are pure BS. Bethesda and its designers chose to sacrifice a game's realism and consistency to avoid any short-term negative publicity from a "self-righteous" moral minority.

It's probably a sign of how self-censoring and hypocritical (and bland, and cowardly) american society has become in the last decade or two.

This is why Origin RPGs (especially from the Ultima VI - VIII days) will always be remembered as milestones and why Bethesda is seen more and more as (yet another) maker of first-person shooters with inconsistent RPG "bling" sprinkled on top.