Children have this way of throwing you off your game right when you think everything is running along smoothly

Today, in the middle of a normal routine, my daughter rendered me speechless. I was zipping up her coat and she said, quietly and quickly “Mommy, why does everyone think girl in her class is the prettiest?”

I was so surprised by the question that my mind went blank. The statement didn’t make sense to me

Why? Why on earth is a four-year-old thinking about whether there’s a prettiest girl in her class? Where did she even get the concept that there is pretty, prettier and prettiest?

She’s a happy kid who is told often that she is beautiful, strong, curious, hard working, smart, creative, funny…

People like her. She’s a nice kid, a good kid, and she is beautiful and smart and curious and creative. She’s passionate.

The whole family has worked to give her confidence, and she usually shines, but in this one moment in front of me she was quiet and vulnerable and there was something on her mind that she wanted to understand.

And all I can think about is how that seed was planted, and whether it will go away.