People applaud me for my "cute kids" and I happily ingest the compliment. Of course I'm glad that the genetic lottery worked in my favor. Yet lately Brady and I have been worried that maybe we need to start reinforcing other positive traits, especially with Elsie. It's not that all this talk about "cute"ness has gotten to her head- she's nearly oblivious. It's just we're worried that in her princess-y, dolled-up, 3 year- old world, asthetic beauty is praised too loudly.
One of Elsie's favorite birthday toys was a pink princess cash register, complete with debit cards and a scanner. When buttons are pressed it shouts out useless mantras like "Fashion!" "Beauty!" The toy drives me crazy. It seems like its trying to hypnotize my sweet 3 year old into being a shallow, over-consumer. If I could, I would switch out all the register sounds for less sexy buzz words like "Ambition!" "Diligence!" "Perseverance!"
When I tell Elsie she is "cute" I hope that she knows it means more than just pretty. It is my way of acknowledging that she is gregarious, witty, happy, nice, smart, observant, entertaining, and yes, easy on the eyes.
2 comments:
Love your pictures of your kids, especially the ones of Elsie in the tiara. You take great pictures. What kind of camera do you have? A nice camera has been on my wish list for quite some time...
This has always been something that is at the front of my thoughts in regards to raising girls... I have never had a girl to help instill a love for her true beauty: her intelligence, her personality, her heart, but I have tried to make sure to praise the girls in my life for these qualities that often go neglected and forgotten.
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