Babies are not cute!

In My Humble Opinion
61

My daughter was flat out gorgeous from word one. My son however, was a very pale, funny looking little kid until he was about three.

Both of them were angels as babies. Not a lot of crying. Nothing more than a very slight fussing if they were wet, messy or hungry. But when they got older, past toddler age and into “I am starting to have a mind of my own” age, then they were ornery “not so cute”.

But even though I have kids of my own? I have to kind of agree withyour assessment. I don’t like most kids, and the whole over the top “isn’t my little angel adorable” stuff that new parents do? Ugh.

62

When I was teenager, I found babies to be ugly smelly little things, not in the least bit cute, and I definitely didn’t want any of them. All my classmates would go lal mushy-eyed if anyone brought a baby to school, and I thought they were insane.

By the time I was in my thirties though, I had definitely decided that I wanted children … older children. About 7+, say. Old enought to have developed some rational thought. I still thought babies were icky. So … bit of a dilemma there :wink: . In order to get the walking talking going-to-the-toilet-by-themselves older kid, I would have to go through the icky, hard-work, boring baby stage.

I decided that I could cope. I would brave the Demon Baby in order to get my older kids (and, eventually, adult children) further down the track. My baby was born in September 2003.

And THAT’s when the maternal instinct kicked in.

Those hormones, they really know how to do their job. The minute my daughter was born, she was adorable. She was the cutest Tiny Girl in the entire universe. All the other babies were still ugly little lumps, but MY baby was different!

She has, of course, remained adorable all the subsequent 18 months. However, the other babies haven’t remained ugly lumps. The glamour has spread! Now I too have become one of those new-baby-grasping insane clucky chicks. In fact, I’ve gone so far insane we’re planning on trying to get another one just like her this October (yeah, I know Baby #2 will probably be COMPLETELY different from the Small Girl in every respect, because second children always are. Shush! Don’t tell me about it!)

So anyway, yeah, those maternal instincts DON’T always “just kick in”. Sometimes they need a kickstart :smiley: . But I can totally relate to all you baby-free people who still think babies are ugly and smelly, 'cos objectively speaking, they are.

Except for MY BABY, of course!

63

I have to second what Aspidistra has said.

I was never drawn to babies while I was growing up, rarely babysat (if I did, they were toddlers on up, the exception being my nephew), and had decided in high school I was never having kids. I had no interest in them. Period.

Fast forward~~I get married, get settled, we buy a house…and I’m still apprehensive about having kids. Mr. Grief wanted kids. Hmmmm…I started thinking and softening up. Ok, I’ll do it.

On December 19, 2002, Little Grief was born. What a change in my life. It changes your outlook on a whole lotta things. I’m more receptive to other peoples kids now. You think things through differently, it changes your perspective. When I see sad things about babies/kids on tv, I cry. Before, I’d be sad, but not NEAR as emotional.

So those who are expecting and are wondering how you will be when your child is born~have no worries~like Aspidistra said, your maternal instincts will kick in and take care of you and your baby. :slight_smile:

64

:smiley: When I saw my buddy’s baby I blurted “Dude! I hate to break it to you but your wife is cheating on you with ET!” Despite this, they still invite me over.

65

:smack:

This should read “will kick in when baby is born and take care of you and your baby.”

66

I’m not sure that two threads are really needed to discuss cuteness and non-cuteness of babies, if we actually debate it in one thread does it then get moved to Great Debates?

Anyway, I don’t feel like making two posts about it. Sometimes I think they are cute and sometimes I don’t. Newborns that can’t even hold their own heads up yet aren’t too cute. When they’re sleeping and they do that yawn thingy and put their little fists up by their face, that’s kind of cute. No child of any age is cute when it’s crying, puking, has snot leaking from it’s nose or drool from it’s mouth or any number of other annoying things are happening. Those ear-splitting banshee wails are most decidedly not cute.

However, when babies are old enough to hold their own heads up and laugh and smile they are cute. I seem to have this ability to get babies to laugh and smile. I am not sure if it’s just because I am extremely funny looking to them or what. Perhaps my big anime eyes make me look like a living cartoon or teletubbie or something. (Og, I hope I don’t actually look like a teletubbie!). Anyway, it is cute to me when I catch a babies eyes and they start smiling and laughing, sometimes this even happens when they had just been crying, so it makes me feel good even if it confirms that I am funny-looking.
On a side note, what is with this not being able to hold their own heads up? I mean how many times did little newborn humans die before our ancestors caught on to this? It seems it might be a smarter evolutionary step if babies were born a bit more precocial, maybe not necessarily up and walking around but at least able to hold their heads up, sit up and smile and laugh that’s not caused by gas.

67

Yep, yep, yep, that’s me to a “t.” I don’t find kids of any age “cute” (or even remotely attractive, for that matter), but puppies…awwwwwwwww!

68

So much for “Intelligent” Design. :wink: Our massively oversized heads, extremely long infancy and rearing period, and general delicacy tend to be pretty contrary to survival. There must be some evolutionary advantage to the massive forebrain and powers of conceptual communication and inferential reasoning…but every time I watch the news I have to wonder. :dubious:

Stranger

69

So when Kindergarten Caricci was born, I couldn’t believe how unappealing he was. His nose was HUGE. But, recently I watched a home video of him still in the hospital and he was actually 10 times uglier than I remember - all blotchy and gross. But, at six, he’s quite good looking.

70

I love little babies. I even like a few toddlers. But you can have 'em from ages 2 to 18. So I don’t wanna be a daddy. My daddy has a hard enough time dealing with me after 38 years.

I’d love to find a childfree female who’s not all militant and firebreathing about “sprogs” and “baybees.” Also: I like puppies 'n kitties, but prefer dogs 'n cats.

71

Another guy checking in. I find most babies pretty ordinary-looking; nothing special, really. Some are ugly, true, and a far smaller proportion are actually beautiful, like my friend Lynn’s two girls, who were beautiful from birth.

Most babies, though? When I see pictures, I say, “Yep. Looks like a baby.” :slight_smile:

My GF was appalled the first time she heard me say that about someone else’s baby. Heh.

72

Same here. I don’t really like children until they’re about 10 or so. Babies skeeve me out. (all that drool and snot and messy diapers) But I melt over kittens (and puppies too but kittens more). Which seems kinda wrong but I guess it’s just how I’m wired. Luckily I finally got my brother married off to a gal who wants babies so all the pressure’s off me now…

73

Add me to the list of women who don’t think babies are cute. I’m happily childfree and babies (young children in general actually) never appealed to me. Babies just lie there like little big-headed space aliens and move their limbs around…creepy! And toddlers–all the annoying habits of babies along with mobility, plus the fact that it seems like they’re always oozing something. No, thanks. It’s a good thing I’m not a parent, because for me kids aren’t appealing until they’re old enough to carry on at least semi-intelligent conversations. This is probably around age 9 or so for me.

Kittens, on the other hand–awwww! I just go all gooey over any kitten in the vicinity. With puppies it depends on the breed, but I’ve never met a kitten that didn’t reduce me to a puddle of “awwwww!” :slight_smile:

I will admit that there was exactly one baby that I thought was beautiful. It was a long time ago, and I saw him in a store I worked at. He was blond with the clearest most gorgeous (and intelligent–this was the key, I think) blue eyes I’ve ever seen. The expression on his face was more “with it” than most adults I know, and I could just tell that kid was going to grow up and be something special. But that’s it–one appealing kid in 20 years isn’t a very good track record. :slight_smile:

74

And all Asian babies look like Chairman Mao.
I was in the strange situation of inheriting a stepson when he was nearly three. He’s seven and a half now, and I think right at his cutest. As a younger kid, he was a handful. Now, he’s more fun to be with (I can play with him more [ and get creamed at PS2 games]). He’s still got that innocent, blameless, unselfconscious love of me. He wants me to hold his hand sometimes when we walk, and if I meet him with his mum in the street, I get “DAD-DEEEE!!!” and a running charge at me, arms outstretched. That is cute. However, it’s not going to last of course. Another year or two he’ll be at that horrible bony “only a parent could love 'em” stage (and that’ll last until he’s about 25!).

The main thing I think is that everybody has the right to think their own children are the greatest thing in the world - but please, please don’t expect anybody else to think so. Parents not getting this simple fact are why kids run riot in trains, restaurants etc. Aren’t they cute? NO!

75

I think that was me. :smiley: Sorry to disappoint you; I grew up to be just another paycheck earning, income tax-paying, highway commuting brick-in-the-wall white collar drone.

I can juggle, though. :wink:

Stranger

76

This is not so much about beauty, but that “spark of wit in the eye” thing…

My late uncle was a career teacher (he ended up being a principal and then a district school inspector). He loved teaching, but he said it was only because of a small fraction of kids. Most of 'em, he maintained, were drooling, lifeless drones who’d just sit there in the classroom, staring into space. My uncle said that if it were only those kids he’d not have lasted a week as a teacher - but he told me that in every classroom there were one or two kids who had the spark in their eye, and they made the whole exercise worth it.

77

Intereresting that you brought this up. Babies seem to like me as well.
Every time there is one nearby, they seem to zone in on me; staring, giggling, reaching out their grubby hands, and making me very uncomfortable. I am guessing they sense my feelings of discomfort and that is why they are drawn to me, much like parents seem to sense the same thing, and are determined that I will take a liking to their baby.

Also, the baby that was dropped into my lap, even though it was an :eek: experience for me, the baby seemed quite contented. He stared at me for a moment, then promptly closed his eyes and fell asleep, to the delight of his mother. She had been trying to quiet him any way she could, and for some reason, my lap seemed to be the answer. :dubious:

I don’t hate babies. They are, after all, little human beings, and if by some chance a baby needed me, and there was no one else to take care of the helpless one, I would. But there is no way I will ever think a baby is cute. I just don’t see it.

78

Put me in the camp of “babies not cute”. I can’t remember a time (even as a little girl) that I thought they were. I am almost 40 now, and have absolutely no maternal instinct at all.

The entire mama-dada-poopy-caca-dipey-wipey and drool scene is so far off my radar it isn’t even funny.

Originally posted by Cyros :

I might as well just admit to myself that this is pretty much how I feel about children. ESPECIALLY the part about how it’s irresponsible and ridiculous to have one and not train it to behave.

Originally posted by featherlou :

BF and I feel the same way. Other people seem to think you are some horrible ogre-beast if you don’t want to have children.

79

It takes a rather emotionally advanced person to admit that there are OTHER people out there and that they may possibly have a differeing opinion from yours.

You’re allowed your opinion, and you should be allowed to express it, just like the caca-poopy folks are expressing thiers.

Otherwise things’d be kinda boring.

80

Even less cute are babies with food smeared all over their faces. Yuck!