Little Children
I have noticed an extraordinary number of little children in my neighborhood and around New York while on my way to work or coming home from work or just out and about walking around. I don't know why I'm taking special notice. I generally notice children all the time, but for some reason, it seems there are more around this time of year than usual.
I notice them usually when they are doing something cute. I find it especially touching when they walk alongside their parent or guardian with one hand outstretched upwardly clasping the hand of the adult. The contrast in height is something I can't get over. It moves me every time. I just find it adorable when the child is so much smaller than the adult and yet they walk hand-in-hand as equals. It's a beautiful thing.
I also find it especially adorable when kids are really giving their parents a hard time. They'll be on the subway or in some building running and jumping around, completely misbehaving, and their parents are powerless. They shriek at them in agony and frustration. How embarrassing it is to be the parent of a misbehaving child. But the kids just look back and smile. They know they can't be caught. One cannot argue with the innocent rationale of a child. They get away with so much!
For no reason at all, a child could break into a song, a dance, or a dead sprint, and no one can question that. Occasionally they must be rescued from the cruel ways of the adult world. They are not yet aware of all the ways they could hurt themselves.
For me, there is a certain point when children become unconditionally cute. I think it is when they are just getting to the age when they walk on their own, they explore on their own, they start dressing in normal-looking clothes. That's the kicker, I think. When kids start dressing in tiny versions of adult clothes, it is adorable. Babies don't do it for me. I think babies, for the most part, all look pretty much the same. But the opposite is far worse. There definitely comes a point when a young child starts growing up too fast and wants to start doing adult things like buy things with their own money and spend time with their friends that they fail to be cute any more and are just annoying. That in-between stage when children first start learning on their own but are still very fresh and have fertile minds.
The ages between 2 and 10 are the best, in my opinion. They're out of diapers, able to walk and talk on their own, just beginning school and developing a personality all their own. That is something everybody can appreciate, parent or not. I definitely would like to have kids one day, but I can wait. No rush here. Until it happens, I will gladly look on at other people's kids and admire what they have to say and do from a bystander's perspective.
I notice them usually when they are doing something cute. I find it especially touching when they walk alongside their parent or guardian with one hand outstretched upwardly clasping the hand of the adult. The contrast in height is something I can't get over. It moves me every time. I just find it adorable when the child is so much smaller than the adult and yet they walk hand-in-hand as equals. It's a beautiful thing.
I also find it especially adorable when kids are really giving their parents a hard time. They'll be on the subway or in some building running and jumping around, completely misbehaving, and their parents are powerless. They shriek at them in agony and frustration. How embarrassing it is to be the parent of a misbehaving child. But the kids just look back and smile. They know they can't be caught. One cannot argue with the innocent rationale of a child. They get away with so much!
For no reason at all, a child could break into a song, a dance, or a dead sprint, and no one can question that. Occasionally they must be rescued from the cruel ways of the adult world. They are not yet aware of all the ways they could hurt themselves.
For me, there is a certain point when children become unconditionally cute. I think it is when they are just getting to the age when they walk on their own, they explore on their own, they start dressing in normal-looking clothes. That's the kicker, I think. When kids start dressing in tiny versions of adult clothes, it is adorable. Babies don't do it for me. I think babies, for the most part, all look pretty much the same. But the opposite is far worse. There definitely comes a point when a young child starts growing up too fast and wants to start doing adult things like buy things with their own money and spend time with their friends that they fail to be cute any more and are just annoying. That in-between stage when children first start learning on their own but are still very fresh and have fertile minds.
The ages between 2 and 10 are the best, in my opinion. They're out of diapers, able to walk and talk on their own, just beginning school and developing a personality all their own. That is something everybody can appreciate, parent or not. I definitely would like to have kids one day, but I can wait. No rush here. Until it happens, I will gladly look on at other people's kids and admire what they have to say and do from a bystander's perspective.
posted by Leland J. Fischer at 7:11 PM
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