Speaking to little girls

I have been wanting to write about this for some time now. It is has been in my drafts folder for a while but never got round to doing it. So today, as a way of avoiding other pressing matters, I decided to do so!

Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people. E. Roosevelt

Have you ever thought about how you try and approach a little girl you have never met before? Have you ever commented on her appearance to break the ice? I guess I have. Is that a bad thing?I am not sure... Now I think of it, maybe yes,... but we are all human and a lot of little girls are interested in pink dresses and hair clips.

Lisa Bloom's article about how we approach little girls made me think. She says:

As I always bite my tongue when I meet little girls, restraining myself from my first impulse, which is to tell them how darn cute/ pretty/ beautiful/ well-dressed/ well-manicured/ well-coiffed they are.

 It's our culture's standard talking-to-little-girls icebreaker, isn't it?

The author goes on to describe one encounter with a little girl where she asks her about the book she is reading instead of commenting on her looks to break the ice. I think it is a great idea and am definitely going to give it a go.

Image, beauty, looks are important for (little) girls but not the most important things in life. We all know that. While we all want our daughters to look cute and be self-confident, we do not want them to depend upon and shape their future by praise and compliments about their looks.

This got me thinking about how other cultures break the ice. A friend tells me that in Chinese culture it is customary to tell a child how well behaved they are as it is a way to compliment the parents indirectly with whom you are socialising. I would love to hear from your experiences.