Ugly Children May Get Parental Short Shrift
Remember to read thoroughly the “Read Me First” post on this blog before responding to this post. You may discuss any—or a combination—of the following as long as it results in three (3) 5-7 sentence paragraphs.
- A taboo is something that is not acceptable in social circumstances; for example, calling an infant “ugly.” But exactly why is this so? Why is it more socially acceptable to call an adult “ugly,” but not an infant?
- In the study Bakalar was describing, it clearly states that some parents left their “ugly” babies unattended in the cart, or would let “ugly” children wander off. If the reporter isn’t calling these parents “bad,” then what is Bakalar saying about this particular situation?
- Do you agree with Dr. Harnell when he states that, “…There are a lot of things that make a person more valuable, and physical attractiveness may be one of them”? Explain.
Prof. Ferrante
posted by Garth Ferrante @ 9/10/2006 02:44:00 PM
7 comments
7 Comments:
1. It is more acceptable to criticize the looks of an adult as opposed to a child, because an adult is more capable of handling it while a child will feel "abused."
2. Bakaler is probably saying that the parent is not ready to care for children, it may not have to do with the child being "ugly."
3. Yes, I agree with Dr. Harrell that beauty or physical attractiveness does make a person more valuable in some instances.
I do not agree that it is okay to refer to an adult as ugly nor a child. More importantly, it is wrong to judge an individual based on their outward appearance. Sadly as it seems but many individuals refer to adults deformities as ugly but shy away from making the same statement about infants. I recall hearing people place emphasis on the fact that adults could do better to enhance their appearance believing that the use of cosmetics are available. While we could use make up, wigs, weave or toupees to assist adults to improve their appearance, it is not the same for a child. It is true, however, that most people gravitate to attractive individuals moreso than those that do not look as well weather it is an adult or child.
I do not agree with Mr. Bakalar's statement that parents allow ugly children to wander. This behavior is attributed to the way the parent received instruction. Some grew up in an environment that little was given. They, in turn, want their child to grow up independently, express creatively and develop their own identity.
Television ads, bill boards and even radio advertisement work dilligently to make people dissatisfied with how they look. People are encouraged to attend spas and gyms so they can develop the perfectly sculptured body. They should place more time on helping people to know who they are and what they may achieve by strengthening their minds and skills on appropriate parenting. It is important that a child realizes that it is loved without all focus placed on how it looks.
P. Sellers-Bradford
At 9:38 PM, September 11, 2006, Anonymous said...
I think that this entirely depends on what people believe to be ugly and beautiful. They on checked one city in Canada, they could've checked other places
At 9:46 PM, September 11, 2006, Anonymous said...
the first comment is jean
At 9:51 PM, September 11, 2006, Anonymous said...
I believe that the story of the ugly children it could be broken down more because of the fact that parenting should not be based on looks like for example parents tend o take care more of the pretty children than the ugly one which leaves alot to desier from the parents
karla quintero
At 10:24 PM, September 11, 2006, Anonymous said...
The article about ugly children does not specify any futher than one city which doesn't help me to understand the study on pretty children. It gives the reader the idea that for example it depends on your age, but no, it depends on your economic status. Its not breaking down to the main factor that the author points out and thats being ugly vs. pretty. Children may look pretty as a child and puberty hits and all those good looks are gone.
Javia Barnhardt
At 10:45 PM, September 11, 2006, Anonymous said...
I feel that this article is researchers opinion. Who is to say that these parents just didn't know how to control their kids and it had nothing to do with being pretty or ugly.
At 10:45 PM, September 11, 2006, Anonymous said...
I feel that this article is researchers opinion. Who is to say that these parents just didn't know how to control their kids and it had nothing to do with being pretty or ugly.
At 10:49 PM, September 11, 2006, Anonymous said...
the 5th comment is johanny
At 11:01 PM, September 11, 2006, Anonymous said...
After re-reading the ugly children article, i have come to many conclusions. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so how can a group of researchers that have researched in one country and only in supermarkets determined the fact that ugly children are being cheated of an equal parental support. In addition these researchers set up a scale from 1-10 meaninig what? that children that are a 10 are beautiful and for that matter parents preferance them instead of the ugly children. Does the economic status of a family really determines if ugly children are desired as much as a "perfect child"?
Manuel A. Sanchez
At 11:01 PM, September 11, 2006, Anonymous said...
Ugly and pretty children shouldn't be a concern to parents. I believe that if your a parent you should treat your children equally, regardless of how they look. For example what if your pretty child is involved in an accident. Does that mean that the parent will stop caring for that child the way they did? Only because this child is now deformed and may look ugly.
Mary Garcia
At 11:26 PM, September 11, 2006, Anonymous said...
Parents lack of attentiveness is not necessarily because a child is beautiful or ugly. Their behavior in terms of concern for their child's safety can be attributed to the way they were treated by their parents or their social environment as they grew up. Many people never learned the skills of ensuring that the child does not hurt themselves so we cannot expect them to buckle the seat belt. Some parents prefer to give their children the freedom to make decisions at an early age based upon that child's development. This fosters independence and creativity.
At 11:33 PM, September 11, 2006, Anonymous said...
Response to Manuel: I agree with you on the research only being conducted in Canada. How can researchers determine such a non-equal treatment only in Canada and state that pretty children get better treatment. That's something they would have to research in other places and observe. I believe the researcher is only seeing this in his point of view. As far as the supermarket why would someone reasearch something like this there? What if the ugly child was just being a brat. maybe the parent was treating the child in a way that made it seem like the pretty child was treated better.
Mary Garcia
At 11:39 PM, September 11, 2006, Anonymous said...
When a person has a child or children most likely the child or off spring will look like or look similar to one of the two parents. In several experiences the child may favor the appearance of another family member. Favoring one child over another is natural among human kind. Every human consciously or unconsciously favors one thing over another. Was the favoritism described in this article developed from the child appearance? Parents who give special attention to one child instead of the other may not be because of the child’s appearance .The parent maybe living vicariously through their child.
At 11:39 PM, September 11, 2006, Anonymous said...
It is more acceptable to call an adult ugly as opposed to a child beause this is a sensitive issue.
Bakalar is Saying that the parent is irresponsible and it might not have anything to do with being "ugly." Yes, I agree with Dr. Harrell that beauty/attractiveness is valuable is some instances
At 11:40 PM, September 11, 2006, Anonymous said...
When a person has a child or children most likely the child or off spring will look like or look similar to one of the two parents. In several experiences the child may favor the appearance of another family member. Favoring one child over another is natural among human kind. Every human consciously or unconsciously favors one thing over another. Was the favoritism described in this article developed from the child appearance? Parents who give special attention to one child instead of the other may not be because of the child’s appearance .The parent maybe living vicariously through their child. (vienna Mouzon)
At 11:41 PM, September 11, 2006, Anonymous said...
It is more acceptable to call an adult ugly as opposed to a child beause this is a sensitive issue.
Bakalar is Saying that the parent is irresponsible and it might not have anything to do with being "ugly." Yes, I agree with Dr. Harrell that beauty/attractiveness is valuable is some instances
Jean Turner
At 11:59 PM, September 11, 2006, Anonymous said...
I do not believe that the boys were “kept in closer proximity to the adults”, because of their good looks. From my own experience boys are more active than girls. The age of the young boys may vary but that does not affect their hyper and intense behavior. The parent may be keeping the young boy near so that they can keep a close eye on them. The store is filled with many dangerous hazards.(vienna)
At 12:01 AM, September 12, 2006, Anonymous said...
Response to Vienna: I agree that children's appearance, has nothing to do with the treatment a parent gives them. Sometimes it's the off spring of looking similar to one of the parents. I believe that comes from one of the parents having serious issues, with the other that the child looks like. When something like that happens they tend to take it out on that child. It's a very unfair situation. Parents don't even realize the damage they can be causing that child. This could be something that's going on when the researcher says parents care better for the pretty child.
Mary Garcia
At 12:07 AM, September 12, 2006, Anonymous said...
I agree with a comment posted that states a parents lack of parental skill may come from their own parents lack of parental skills.Being a parent is not something you become over night. Being a parent is a mental and physical process. Maybe the people the researchers obsevred were not fit parents.The chlids looks did not affect the parents lack of parental skills. Some people have children and just do not understand how to be parent. No child picks their parents nor does any parent pick their child. (Vienna)
Response To Johanny:
I agree with Johanny, Every owrd of this article shows a researchers OPINION. To me this is an unrelevant researched because they only limmited they're search to one country and only few supermarkets, and why only supermarkets? What really gave this article away was the scale from 1-10 who can judge you whether your beauty is someone else's ugly.
"Favoring one child over another is natural among human kind. Every human consciously or unconsciously favors one thing over another."
I agree with her, as individuals we pick one thing over the other and is natural that we may have preferences in our children, it is nor good but we cannot help it soemtimes. The best thing for this case is to realize that there is a problem with favortism and try to solve it.
Response 7, 8 were from manny
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