My granddaughter is beautiful, and . . . .?

[OfCourseEveWasFramed]

She's 10, year 6 and people actually stop us in the street to tell her she's beautiful. This has been going on for her lifetime. She says thank you.
She says, 'thanks, I'm also really smart and I'm a good climber'.
Her looks are the only thing that strangers comment on.
Thankfully, she's level headed. Her class had a one-off lesson on how the media treats girls and women, and she had a lot to say about it - so did her friends.
A girl's looks are not the most important thing about her. We all know this, except random strangers don't seem to have got the message.

Newt, I often have people tell me how handsome my 9-yer-old son is. And he really is. Not boasting but making the point that people do say it about boys too.

People compliment DS2 on his hair - he just says " Thanks ... " he doesn't add " l'm really good at maths and have grade 7 in trombone playing, too " because that would be a) weird and b) a bit smug ...

My little nephews get told how gorgeous they are - they are, obviously. And the older one gets told he's handsome. It's really not that unusual OP, sorry to say!

Is there a particular town or city in the UK where stopping someone on the street to pass comment on looks is commonplace? I might take a visit and see what happens.

"I worry about paedophiles when people comment on how beautiful my daughter is."

Oh dear. I'd better never tell anyone their baby is beautiful again.

I am cringing.

OR
People are spontaneously expressing their genuine pleasure at the sight of a beautiful child?
As beauty is subjective its likely that different people will find different children beautiful or some people think all children are beautiful.

Oh the shame.

OP, how the hell can total strangers tell your daughter how clever she is or what things she is good at doing? They can't see that.

they sure as hell wouldn't do it to a 10 yo boy

Yeah they would, my younger brother (now 17) is stunning and he used to get people (mostly older women) tell him he was handsome all the time.

Sorry about the mistake in my previous post, I meant to say granddaughter of course, not daughter.

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My daughter is beautiful. She has dark hair and dark brown eyes and lashes to die for. Noone has ever stopped me in the street either.

I always wonder if people don't like the attention from strangers telling them how beautiful they are that they could wear a crappy baseball cap, crop their hair short, wear a grubby jumper orsport dark glasses and that would stop it. But somehow they don't, so it can't be that bad.

they sure as hell wouldn't do it to a 10 yo boy

They sure as hell do.

Yanbu.

I think people who've never experienced this stranger adoration, but who obviously think their own child is beautiful, can't understand.

I try so hard now not to mention a child's looks, unless they're completely ordinary looking - then it's fine.

Dd2 has the most glorious curls, so much so we couldn't walk down the street without everyone commenting on them. At 3, she said to me 'is there anything else good about me, or just my hair'. We decided together to get them all chopped off.

How are strangers supposed to know what your granddaughter is good at? They compliment her based on what they see.

Sounds a bit dramatic
Couldn't you have just said 'of course there is, people just love curly hair'

If I told a random child she was beautiful (which I wouldn't) I think I'd be a bit taken aback if she told me she was also smart and could climb. I also think it a bit rude. She's very fortunate to have good looks.

This has really bugged me - why is DGD being smart any more praiseworthy than being beautiful? Both are attributes that you're born with (or not). Now, if she'd said "Thank you, I'm also really hardworking and kind", then I'd understand more.

What message does this give to people who are blessed with wonderful looks but aren't very bright. Are they somehow lesser beings?

Do the best with what you're given, and appreciate others when they do the same.

And?? I was an attractive child. People didn't stop me, but they did regularly tell my mum. Meh.

Tell her to enjoy it. Being good looking is an advantage in life. There are some downsides but in the main, it's a bonus. Lucky girl!

If this is genuine, the really depressing thing is that once she hits puberty this attention is going to have a different slant to it and she will need to develop a more robust coping strategy. As a teenage girl, it usually takes a few unpleasant interactions to understand that random older men coming up to you and saying how pretty you are do not deserve a polite or personal reaction, and that you're under no obligation to be gracious or grateful.

Well obviously randoms in the street can only comment on her looks vs personality can’t they? They don’t personally know her

I am not stealth boasting.
Of course a stranger can't comment on her personality or character, but believe me, random strangers do feel the need to comment on her looks.

My 9 year old is so beautiful she already has eyes on Samantha Brick's husband.