Interestingly, she observes that unusally physically attractive preschoolers are in the same boat.
I get that. DD actually gets a lot more attention for her appearance (i.e., blonde curls). I consider myself (and herself) fortunate that she's got other unusual features that sometimes garner ambivalent or even negative comments. Once a woman in the grocery store saw her, froze, stared for a minute, and then said, "That face works." Uhhh...thanks?
No5, this is exactly our scenario. DD has been ooohed and ahhhed over because she has blonde ringlets, big blue eyes and a dimple. People have been commenting on her looks every day of her life (even when she looked like a boy for the first year lol). I have been struggling with that more than anything, since there is so much pressure out there on girls and their looks.
In terms of her outgoing personality, physical daringness and language skills, people now just assume she's 4 and we leave it at that.
I've decided to not downplay all this, but instead try to model how to respond to her getting so much verbal attention from strangers. Afterall, when she's older, she'll have to respond all by herself, without me there.
