does teaching count as "lecturing" because i just put my chief on a child (he's over 18) in hopes of teaching and it said "refusing" "some actions can only be performed once every 24 hours" and i've never taught any children, but i have lectured.

The chief only lectures. The lecturing of the kids, where they gain skill, can happen only once every 24 hours. The chief can "lecture" the whole tribe, if dropped on the podium, as many times as you like, but no skills will be gained that way.