Scipio was also fighting a different war.<p>Carthage was an empire that fielded armies. The Germanic peoples, as in this case, were often migrating <i>and</i> invading, and had a certain culture and way of life that meant the women and children were much more involved politically and militarily.  Children were generally not present in significant numbers in Carthagian armies, they often were in German armies.<p>Given a few years, it was a virtual guarantee Caesar would be fighting the children of these people (assuming that they were not already fighting as well as they could or trying to prevent the retreat of the men). Carthagian children were, on the other hand, not a threat as long as the political situation remained stable.