Are children asexual?

[Kazu]

I guess by definition they are but I really don't like thinking about it that way. I know a lot of kids seem to get little crushes before they reach puberty which could hint at their developing sexuality and romantic attraction but due to how young they are the crushes are all "pure" and just very PG for lack of better terms. As someone who's never had a crush I can't speak from experience but all crushes my friends had as kids were like "I like them because they're really nice or they're pretty" and never really went past that they wanted to hold hands or give them a little peck on cheek. I know sexuality's fluid but it just doesn't rub me the right way to call children asexual when they're not far along enough yet to know what sexual attraction is and whether or not they experience and if they experience it who they're attracted too. Also, I've heard some people even call asexuals childish because of our lack of sexual attraction which came off very ignorant, rude, and slightly offensive to me. (I'm thinking that might be part of the reason why I don't like referring to children as asexual) There's a difference being too young to really have your sexuality come into play and being past that point (that point being puberty) and knowing/figuring/realizing out your (a)sexuality. I know some kids figure out how to masturbate when they're little but if I had to give children any kind of label it'd be nonsexual because imo that's just what they are. Too young to really know and get the full concept sexuality.

[Xavy]

I think children are asexual, in fact we are all born asexual.

[Manly Ace]

In my opinion, no. They are not asexuals, they're just clueless about sexuality.

It doesn't mean that asexual children are not real (I was one of them), but that's not a pleonasm.

[Kellam]

I became aware of my difference around age 7 but didn't realize it was a sexual difference until puberty. What I'm saying is that I agree with the term pre-sexual others have mentioned here as to how I responded to the world as a child. My mind did mature and develop along similar lines as my sexual peers, it just went to the asexual branch of the sexuality tree. Whether that was due to hormones, education or socializing factors I cannot say. Sex isn't a question for kids, or at least it wasn't for me in my kid years. That's the difference. A child may understand the physical mechanics of sex, depending on various factors, but they lack comprehension of what it is and what it means. It's an abstract concept to a kid, part of the future. To an adult it is a concrete reality.