Don't kid yourself, Your Kid is not cute.

I have always wondered...Do parents of ugly children REALLY believe that their kids are cute? I realize that when babies are born, mothers (and fathers) are usually delusional and believe that their baby is gorgeous and the best looking baby ever. I did not have that delusion. Not trying to be mean, but when my daughter was born she wasn't cute. She had big eyes and her tongue hung out of her mouth. Fortunately she quickly became adorable. And no, I'm not being one of those delusional mothers I am writing about. Even strangers would come up to me and tell me how pretty she was (and still is). A stranger would not do that. A stranger would just not say anything at all. Anyway, anyone who knows my true identity would be happy to back me up on this.

There are other ways parents are delusional into thinking their kid is cute, other than just their physical features. There are moms (and dads) who think that whatever their kid does or says is just hysterical and so original. Every time you see them they have some stupid anecdote about their child.

There is such a mother in my daughter's Saturday class. Her kid is U-G-L-Y. I know, I know, it's mean to say about a child. But I'm not saying it to to the kid's face or anything. It really is just a fact. On the first day I swear I thought someone dressed up a pet monkey in a pink tu-tu. I can't believe that anyone would think that this kid is cute. But the mother just goes on and on about her child. She always brings up these stupid stories like "oh and then she said 'no mommy, I'm tree not two'". And she acts like this is just the funniest thing. I just want to tell her that the story was not so funny and we (well I) really don't care. When looking and listening to her, in my head I'm actually thinking her kid is not nearly as cute as the mother believes her to be and quite frankly the mother is annoying too. At the same time I'm wondering if my face is reflecting that I am interested in her story or if she can tell that I just don't give a crap and stop talking to me.

The worst, worst is when an ugly kid misbehaves. One time in my daughter's music class there was this girl around 2 or 3 years old. This girl was a BRAT! She would steal instruments out of other kids hands, push kids and so on. Not only did the mom not discipline her daughter but she would just laugh or smile when the kid misbehaved. As we were leaving the class and putting on coats, the brat pushed my child. Oh! NO! Maybe other parents looked the other way to be nice but not me. I told the mother that her child just was not cute enough to get away with that behavior. Now honestly, if the girl was a good looking girl, I still don't think the behavior or the mom's reaction would be appropriate. But for some reason I felt that the child being un-cute made is even less tolerable. Call me shallow I guess.

Do parents see an illusion when it comes to their own children? G-d (or whatever supreme being you fall for) makes it such that women forget the pain of childbirth so that they procreate again. Does He do the same with ugly kids? Does he distort the child's image in the parent's brain so they only see beauty?