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"I think the feeling can be geniune, despite the cognitive ability not being fully developed.
The feelings are still certainly valid though, whether or not someone at that age has a life that is as complex as an adult's."
This is precisely why the question invites some scorn on my part, personally--ah, and I do like Crompsin's reply.
The ushy-gushy feelings aren't the hard part of love, and while they are integral they are nigh meaningless on their own. What I find most beautiful about love is its ability to persevere even though adult cognitive function tells us otherwise or steers us away. I don't find purity or innocence beautiful the way that most people seem to---I mean, I do get a fresh, clean feeling when I'm around it the same way I did in grade school when I had a fresh load of school supplies. But appreciation, joy and true contentment comes for me from a page that's been scrawled on, rubbed out, nicked around and wrinkled until the battered words on it shine with the effort and hardship that was put into making them what they are.
When my boyfriend told me two weeks into our relationship that he loved me, I just sort of gave him an affectionate smile and knew full well that it was garbage. Do I doubt he loves me now? No. Did I doubt then that he would ever love me? Nah, not really. We were on the right track, and I knew he would eventually grow to fit his talk.
Before I met him, I had a short tryst with a chronologically older but mentally much younger boy who tootled about on his motorbike and thought Deep Thoughts. We had all the feelings, yes, but his emotional maturity rubbed shoulders with my twelve year old sister's. Things got hard and neither of us really wanted to acknowledge each other's existence anymore. We could have been in love, but not all love is equal in my eyes.
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