Yesterday, I overheard a cute little girl (J) complaining to another cute little girl (S), "you're prettier than I am," about to cry. These are both cute little girls, dressed super-cute but appropriate for school. Personally, I think S is a little cuter, but mostly because she's about the nicest, sweetest person, while J is very bossy and has a mean streak.

I turned to the teacher's aide next to me, and expressed my surprise that this kind of thing starts in kindergarten. No, not usually, she said. Just this one.

Today, I overheard the teacher's aide tell the teacher that this is happening every single morning, which made me sad. I think S is so kind that it's going to upset her that J is upset. But what really worries me is that J is so absolutely concerned about this, at not quite 6! If she's this worried about her looks now, where will she be during the tween and teen years?

I have my suspicions where this is coming from. Her mom is completely plastic. Very young, but fake boobs, fake tan, fake lips, expensive highlights, expensive clothes. To me, that screams insecurity as well as placing a bit too much priority on her looks. I suspect either J is picking up on these insecurities and thinking that's how a woman should act, or even worse, mom is telling J that S is cuter.

And it makes me sad. J has a long road ahead of her, if this is already her biggest concern. There is always going to be someone cuter, more popular, better dressed, whatever. If you can't even be happy with yourself at 6, you never will be.