Is it just because DF was developed on the fringe that it gets away with having infants and children that people use atom smashers on and have core game mechanics where monsters come snatch them?
Or is it something about the implementation that makes it drama-less to everyone?
As far as I'm aware anything that can happen to a Dwarf can happen to an infant or child.
Maybe it's just me, but I see far more kvetching when children are given a protected status in game than when they aren't. Most games just don't include them at all but those that do are better off making them equal participants in the game mechanics the way DF does, even if that enables people to do bad things to them.