# Is There a Word For Someone Who Loves Children But Not in a Weird Way? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 22, 2007, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-for-someone-who-loves-children-but-not-in-a-weird-way/397003 "2007-03-22T11:48:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2007, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-for-someone-who-loves-children-but-not-in-a-weird-way/397003/1 "2007-03-22T11:48:35Z")
What is the word for a person who loves children, but not in the traditional sense in which we understand the word “pedophile”? Think in terms of someone who protects or strongly advocates for children, like say a lawyer who specializes in children’s rights. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2007, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-for-someone-who-loves-children-but-not-in-a-weird-way/397003/2 "2007-03-22T11:53:17Z")
I think that Andrew Vachss calls himself a child’s rights advocate. Not too exciting an answer and not one word, but I’m not sure there is one. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2007, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-for-someone-who-loves-children-but-not-in-a-weird-way/397003/3 "2007-03-22T12:11:10Z")
Normal human being? Parent? Sibling? ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2007, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-for-someone-who-loves-children-but-not-in-a-weird-way/397003/4 "2007-03-22T12:11:25Z")
Pediatric, pedologic or pedagogic, as adverbs? ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2007, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-for-someone-who-loves-children-but-not-in-a-weird-way/397003/5 "2007-03-22T12:14:57Z")
[QUOTE=Maastricht] Pediatric, pedologic or pedagogic, as adverbs? [/QUOTE] Problem is, pedagogic means you teach kids, pediatric means you treat kids, and pedologic means you try to figure kids out. I’m not sure if there _is_ a word. “I love kids” has just as many syllables as “pedophile” does. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2007, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-for-someone-who-loves-children-but-not-in-a-weird-way/397003/6 "2007-03-22T14:59:58Z")
ignore this, see other post. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2007, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-for-someone-who-loves-children-but-not-in-a-weird-way/397003/7 "2007-03-22T15:01:28Z")
Sorry, no nouns that I can think of. The best I can do is either the adjective “avuncular” or “nurturing.” Not quite what you are looking for, I know. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2007, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-for-someone-who-loves-children-but-not-in-a-weird-way/397003/8 "2007-03-22T15:59:49Z")
Parent ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2007, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-for-someone-who-loves-children-but-not-in-a-weird-way/397003/9 "2007-03-22T16:12:48Z")
Pediadvocate. (I made it up, and now I shall lobby for its inclusion into M-W.) ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2007, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-for-someone-who-loves-children-but-not-in-a-weird-way/397003/10 "2007-03-22T16:58:42Z")
Dad ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2007, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-for-someone-who-loves-children-but-not-in-a-weird-way/397003/11 "2007-03-26T01:02:32Z")
The only one I can think of is ‘philoprogenitive’. There’s another one, but I can’t remember it for the life of me. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2007, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-for-someone-who-loves-children-but-not-in-a-weird-way/397003/12 "2007-03-26T01:21:42Z")
Didn’t pedophile _originally_ mean a person who loves kids in a not-necessarily sexual way, but over time it has developed to its current meaning which pretty much precludes anyone wanting to use the term to describe themselves? ---
**Author:** ![Strain\_of\_Thought](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3be4f8/32.png) [@Strain\_of\_Thought](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strain_of_Thought)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2007, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-for-someone-who-loves-children-but-not-in-a-weird-way/397003/13 "2007-03-26T01:38:23Z")
I wouldn’t know for certain, but I’m pretty sure the answer is no. The ‘-phile’ suffix generally refers to an irrational fixation, an attraction as severe as the repulsion of a ‘-phobe’. It can be used non-judgementally, or humorously, but pretty much always indicates some level of obsession. So I can’t imagine ‘pedophile’ ever being used in a strictly positive way- children aren’t something one is ever supposed to be obsessed with. For examples, there’s [audiophile](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/audiophile) and [xenophile](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/xenophile).