Cutesy Crafts for Kids

Why is it we like to put cutesy stuff on kids? I can remember my mother making wearables for my sister, brother, and me all the time when we were growing up. When we were in 2nd or 3rd grade, she made knitted hats that stuck up in back like a gnome’s hat, or more recently, a conehead. They had pompoms at the tip and tied under the chin. They were nice and warm, I admit, during snowstorms back east, and on frigid days. My sister and I hated them. But we loved our mother, and in the 40s, you respected and obeyed your parents - usually. So, we wore them. The year before she passed away at 76, I confessed to her how much I had hated those hats. She was shocked. She said, “But you both looked so adorable in them!” Sure, but she didn’t have the whole class laughing at her at recess. (sigh)

I can remember more items that made us feel just as conspicuous growing up. But mom and other adults thought they were “cute.” We really ought to think about how a child’s peers would react to something we make for them, I guess. It seems okay to make cutesy stuff for pets. They don’t have peers laughing. But sometimes, you can tell by the expressions on their furry faces, they are embarrassed. Poor things.

Like beauty, “cute” seems to be in the eyes of the beholder. Or, in the eyes of the crocheter, knitter, etc.

Lord, help me to think of the person who will be receiving what I am making, and help me to choose the style accordingly.