presumably, since 'child love' includes the word 'love' it involves more than just 'sex'.

now, i realize that children experiment sexually (mainly w/ each other) w/ little emotional context, being motivated mainly by a sense of curiosity & uncomplicated physical excitement & pleasure.

but, be realistic. an adult in a romantic attachment w/ a child, in which the child may & often does have powerful reciprocal feelings, is in a position to inflict all kinds of harm.

sexual (& romantic) relationships often involve a dynamic in which one person seeks to gain power over another, to gain posession, loyalty, access, etc.

children are often naive about the many ways that such power is negotiated, & vulnerable to exploitation. they are also creatures of passionate, wholehearted commitment. this is one reason they are so goddam compelling as friends.

i think it is part of a childs education to learn about love, but not thru painful & traumatic experiences. to blight a persons capacity to love while they are a child is one of the lowest kinds of evil.

while i don't agree with the statement that "children aren't emotionally ready for sex", i think the cavalier assertion that children are emotionally ready for sex are just as misleading & destructive.

i think people shld be asking themselves, if they cannot appreciate the ways in which children may not be emotionally ready for sex, whether they themselves are emotionally ready for it.