I know that it is normal for children to have crushes. It is just an admiration. When an 8-year old child, whether a boy or a girl, expresses his crush for someone, that is fine and no worries. But when a first grader gets serious as giving things to his crush, that's already something else. What can you say about that kind of behavior from a 7-year old boy?
I know a 6 year's old boy who gets irritated merely if someone mentions about a girls or give him anything pink as he considers them girlish. If someone says, "I love you" he says this is for girls but for boys it should be 'I like you'. Surprisingly, he asked me to get him introduced to a girl in his class (aged 5) who was playing with puppy in the park where we were playing cricket. I asked him to go introduce himself but he felt too shy to do so. I was enjoying the situation but took him there and talked to her for some time. I was watching the boy all the time who was smiling shyly during the entire duration. What would you call it?
I remember my son had a girlfriend when he was 12 but I can't remember my children having crushes when they were very young. My 11 year old granddaughter sometimes has boys knocking at the door for her but she always tells me to say she's not in, lol. She prefers her female friends at the moment.
By the way the kid I have mentioned in my previous post knows nothing about gir/boy friend relation but he is not comfortable in the company of girls especially as play mates. He thinks that girls are different from boys and should mingle with girls only. He also associates certain colors as girlish and prefers blue. So, I was surprised when he asked me to introduce with that girl in the park but at the same time he said she was also in the same year in his school but in a different section.
My son is 10 now and as far as I know, he never had a crush although he is good friends with a few girls in his class. He gets along very well with them. Recently a few older boys in his bus started teasing my son linking his name to one of the girls and he was really upset and irritated about it. He usually tells me about crushes of other boys etc. and wants to know why it happens. So we just talk and laugh about it, I know soon there might be a time when he will start liking someone!
I find this so amusing and so cute. My 8 year old nephew has a crush on a girl in his class. He talks about her non-stop and you could see how much he adores this girl. It is so beautiful to watch. I think at this stage, it is very harmless and natural for kids to have crushes.
As I understand that a child has attraction for opposite sex right from the time they come in this world. I am not sure how they express their feeling of attraction or what they feel but that's the opinion of doctors and scientists. According to them a child knows about opposite sex and attraction from the beginning. Here is a link that will give you an idea http://www.srcp.org/for_all_parents/development.html
I wouldn't be surprised if the 7-year old boy in the original post was actually Alexandoy . I had my first crush when I was 7 and I do remember daydreaming about this cute boy at school but the thoughts merely involved me and that boy playing together at school, nothing romantic at all. Those thoughts made me happy back then but I've kept things to myself and never acted on my feelings. Prior to this, I had no idea about courtship, boy-girl relationships, and having crushes. A 7-year old boy giving something to his crush could be behaving based on what he feels at the time. It's also possible that an older male relative might have influenced him to give something to his crush.
It depends what kind of crush you are talking about. I think at that age there wouldn't be anything romantic or sexual with the crush. It is probably just friendship and they feel that love between that friendship. There is nothing wrong with that and I would encourage close relationships with children as long as they were fully clothed!
Excuse me. Sorry to be the comedian here, but how can kids have crushes? They haven't reached puberty. OK, now I see your similar comment. Anyway, I had friends that were girls at that age and believe me, I was not sexually attracted to them. It was impossible!