By ALANA SCHETZER
When my niece was born earlier this year, it was a joyous occasions. And getting to know her and watch her grow and change into a little person has been equally joyous.
She’s just five months old but she’s already a giggling, happy, cuddly bub with a sharp mind. And yes, with big checks, a peaches-and-cream complexion and deep blue eyes, she’s also pretty.
But I’ll never tell her that.
Too often, young girls get comments about their hair, their nails, their clothes and their looks:
‘‘Look at you, you’re so pretty!’’
‘‘What a nice dress you’re wearing.’’
‘‘Who did your hair? That look suits you.’’
I don’t have a problem with girls getting compliments on their looks per se. It’s when it becomes the overwhelming factor that is said to them — at the exclusion of what they think and what they can do — that it becomes cause for concern.
And that’s exactly what’s happening to my niece and it makes me feel…uncomfortable.
By contrast, when my nephew was born five years ago we all told him and each other how cute he was, but family and friends also quickly about his precocious intelligence and how strong he looked.
Simply put, boys get comments on what they do; girls get comments on how they look.
I want my niece to grow up thinking about what she can do and what she can achieve. I don’t want her to judge herself or expect to be treated differently by how she looks.