As you go to see the Howards' newborn baby, you're excited! You can't wait to see the cute, smiling infant with rosy, pink cheeks who looks like an advertisement for baby food. Instead, the Howards show you an entirely red, toothless, bald, prune-faced, screaming little creature. They automatically expect you to say something nice about their baby. They may expect, "Oh, what a cute baby!" But you can't lie. Coming up with nothing to say, you suddenly blurt out, "Well, that sure is a baby, isn't it!" Early in life, a child begins to learn the social importance of physical appearance. The first books many children read are centered around physical appearance, such as The Ugly Duckling, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella and Dumbo the Elephant.
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