Short answer. Yes, in the situation the rule describes. Leading questions are generally not allowed, but one listed exception covers difficulty in getting direct and intelligible answers from a witness who is a child of tender years. Note that the trigger is the difficulty, not the child's age by itself.

What the law says

When there is difficulty in getting direct and intelligible answers from a witness who is ignorant, a child of tender years, is of feeble mind, or a deaf-mute

Rule 132, Section 10 — Leading and misleading questions. Read the full provision →

The general rule and why it exists

A leading question is defined by the rule as one which suggests to the witness the answer which the examining party desires, and the rule says it is not allowed. The concern is obvious once stated: if the questioner supplies the answer, the court is hearing the lawyer's account with the witness merely agreeing to it. The value of testimony lies in it being the witness's own. That is the baseline against which every exception, including this one, has to be read.

The exception is about difficulty, not about age alone

This is the part most worth getting right. The exception is not phrased as "children may be led". It applies when there is difficulty in getting direct and intelligible answers from a witness in one of the listed categories, which includes a child of tender years alongside a witness who is ignorant, of feeble mind, or a deaf-mute. The difficulty is the operative condition; the category identifies who it may arise with. A child who is answering clearly does not obviously present the situation the exception was written for.

What this means for your child

Read that way, the exception is a practical accommodation rather than a licence. Its purpose is to allow a young witness to give evidence at all, where an open-ended question would simply produce silence or confusion, without turning the examination into the lawyer testifying. It does not follow that every question put to a child may be leading, and it does not change the rule's separate and unqualified statement that a misleading question — one assuming a fact not yet testified to, or contrary to what the witness has already said — is not allowed.

Before the day comes

Whether the exception applies to a particular child, and how far it stretches, is something the court assesses as the examination unfolds rather than a matter settled in advance. Note also that other rules can govern how children give evidence, and this provision is not the whole picture. If your child is going to testify, raise the question of how she will be examined with the lawyer handling the case beforehand, so that what happens in the courtroom is not a surprise to either of you.

Related provisions

Note. Statute text quoted on this page is reproduced from the official enactment and is linked to the full provision. The explanation around it is general legal information from Vivas & Nobles Law Office, not legal advice. Whether it applies to your situation depends on facts only a lawyer reviewing them can assess.