Being 'in Love' With Babies Etc

[joko]

just curious, but what do people think of it when people refer to 'falling in love' with their babies, children and their close family member??
obviously they don't mean in a romantic way but i always think of being 'in love' as being a romantic passion etc - you fall in love with partners etc

so i always think it sounds a bit weird when people say they've fallen 'in love' with their newborn, or when you hear people say a dad is the first man a little girls falls in love with ...

i mean i know you love all those people, and you love places and things, etc in varying degrees - but you are not in love with your car, or your nan etc

dont get me wrong - it doesnt really bother me, im not losing sleep over it haha
just always seems and weird thing to say
thanks

[-Talbot-]

Must be a woman thing....women can fall in love with a pair of shoes!

[ummmm]

Well I've only heard the 'I love them but I'm not 'in' love with them' when a relationship has ended so I assume you can fall in love with anything.

I'm currently in love with R Whites lemonade ice lollies...

[Canary42]

Do mothers who fall in love with their children become Fallen Women ?

[Cloverjo]

I find it a bit odd, too. I loved my son as a newborn and still do of course, but I didnt "fall in love" with him, nor did I with my dad.
TBH, I'm not sure I've "fallen in love" with anyone; I'd call some of those relationships obsessions, not falling in love

[Sir Alec]

I don't have any maternal feelings and therefore have never had children as I don't think I'd have made a very good mother. I also didn't want to pass on my genes.
I don't buy shoes, handbags and make-up either - some men love their car more than they love the woman they are with. How shallow is that?

[Mamyalynne]

I think it's purely playing with terminology - the love for your child is fierce and protective but yet doesn't bring about the same physical sensations your love for a mate does.

[vetuste_ennemi]

"In love" normally means sex, Joko. "Love" means care for others. Might mean wife, parent, child or cat. You do the math.

[joko]

yeah, thats my point vestuste

[mastercraft]

Can't say that I have ever heard that term.

'I love' ... my baby, my son, my daughter, my parents... is what people usually say, isn't it?

[birdie1971]

VE - " "In love" normally means sex.."

Crikey! Does it?

I've just got a dog. I've been telling anyone who'll listen how brilliant he is and how in love with him I am. We're definitely not having sex. With each other I mean.

[Old_Geezer]

I think folk can read too much into a phrase.
I'm unsure kids fall in love with parents although who knows what happens in an adolescent or pre-adolescent mind ? I suspect a parent merely provides an initial default "template" the child is happy/familiar/comfortable with.
No, I also don't equate "in love" always with having sex. It refers to the excessive emotional vfeelings one can experience. These are not a prerequisite for love which is a more general/vague term and can include, for example, love of one's fellow humans.

[joko]

no i dont think kids do fall in love with family or pets -its just a phrase some people use to show they love someone a hell of a lot, not realising the connotations of it ...

thats it is more to do with romantic love, physical attraction etc

it doesnt mean the act of 'sex' but sexual attraction - that you would have sex with them if you could i suppose

a 99 yr old can still be madly in love with their partner even if they cant have sex anymore - but they used to
same with other types of people who cant have sex for whatever reason,
but it is romantic rather and familial

[waterboatman]

It's just another example of misuse of the English language.

It's natural that one should love all your family, falling 'in' love is for lovers.

[keyplus90]

I also believe that you are confusing love with sex. Or at least you are thinking of sex when you are thinking of "being or fallen in love". Take that bit out and you should be fine.