Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Pre Natal Anxiety: The Ugly Child

Nacho is at that phase where he can switch from an obnoxiously hyper daredevil to charming little angel in a snap of a finger depending on which will yield his desired result. I can see right through that sweet smile of his but am not immune to submission when I'm already too tired to put up a fight... it's a given since I'm his mother. What amazes me is the amount of patience from my son's grandmas, uncles, aunts, even the market vendors who would extend discounts or let him play with quail eggs for his amusement. I figured they let him get away with murder (poor quail embryo!) because (thankfully) they think he's adorable!

It's a universal fact that attractive people have it easier than the aesthetically challenged lot but an old article in Time Magazine actually cites a study that 70% of abused or abandoned children had at least one apparent flaw in their appearance like distinct facial irregularities such as a cleft palate or a skin condition.

From childhood experience, my sister being the first and white as snow got preferential treatment to which I adapted by smartening up. I'm worried that my second child might not turn out to be as fair or as quick a learner as Nacho... given the novelty of having a baby in the family has worn off, would everybody still be as nice and patient?

To this my husband answers... "and that is why I pray he turns out to be a boy so his physical appearance will not matter as much. If our baby is a girl then it's a problem either way whether she's ugly or pretty!" Haaay, this calls for a different topic altogether!