Can a man be interested in contact with children without suspicion of being a pedophile?

Tbh I had to investigate myself to be sure. But no, when I meet children or think about them, I don't think at all about what's in their pants, neither do I get aroused in any way. But I love to talk with them, play with them, have fun with them, almost as if I were one of them at that moment, though I realize very well I'm not.

Last week there was a holiday activities week for children. I gave six different workshops on two days; a girl of about 8 years old visited five of them. Afterwards pictures were taken of the children and she wanted to be on the pictures together with me. (Actually it felt like a relief when her mother, who came to get her back home, told me she fancied a boy from her school. It would have felt uncomfortable if she really were in love with me.) And it was not just her, there were more children appreciating my workshops and the way I did them. There was some humorous joy in the air all the time.

Those were two great days, so much better than the average day of the year. I think that if I were a woman, nobody would have thought this strange. But as a man you have to prove your innocence all the time; and lately I get the idea it gets harder for men to be accepted in volunteer work with children at all. And that hurts both practically and emotionally.