What age should children be baptized?

Scripture does not speak directly on the subject of when to baptize a believing child. So this is wisdom issue in which each individual parent must make a judgment call. This article is intended to give some things to consider when making that decision.
1)	The Child’s Understanding
Since baptism is a public declaration of one’s acceptance of the gospel, we should not baptize anyone if there is a significant question about whether the person understands the gospel. Very often a child will desire to be baptized prior to the time when he/she can understand the gospel. In this case, the parents should wait.
2)	The Child’s Maturity
Young children, for the most part, do not really have beliefs of their own. Whatever their parents tell them is true, they assume is true. This is by God’s design. Somewhere around the middle school years, there is a change. The child begins examining his/her beliefs one by one and determining whether they really embrace those as their own or not. And the most fundamental of those beliefs is the gospel. At this age they are asking, “Do I really believe the Bible? Is Christianity really what I want to pursue with my life?”
Once the child has gone through that period and asked those questions and has settled on the answer, “Yes!” – that is a great time for baptism.
3)	The Child’s Memory
In Ro.6:1-3 Paul gives instruction that helps the Christian in the battle against sin. The question is posed, “Why not continue to sin so that grace will abound?” The answer is that we died to sin (that is, we made a conscious, decisive break with the old life of sin). And in v.3 that decisive break is connected to baptism. When a person is baptized, that person is publically stating their resolve to forsake the old life of sin. Or in Peter’s words, they are making a pledge of good conscience toward God (1 Pe.3:21). And the implication of Ro.6:1-3 is that our memory of that pledge assists us in the day to day battle against sin. When a believer is tempted to sin, he can remember, “Wait a minute. I once stood up in front of a whole crowd of people, soaking wet, all because I was so earnest about declaring my decisive break with sin. There was a reason I did that. Why would I now go back to sin?” In other words, remembering one’s baptism assists in living the Christian life. When people are baptized at such a young age that in their adult years they can hardly remember how they felt at the time, that advantage is lost. So a child should be old enough so that there is a good chance they will remember both the event and how they felt at the time throughout t heir life.
These are three benefits of waiting. On the other hand, however, if a child is clearly saved, knows the Bible calls us to be baptized, and earnestly desires to obey God in that, it is difficult for a parent to say no. If the parent decides to allow a child to be baptized to honor a good desire in the child’s heart, this could hardly be criticized.