Rosehip - I heard an interview on BBC1 radio years ago (steve wright in the afternoon). Vanessa Williams was the guest. (She was a pop singer back then, now shes an actress on Ugly Betty - just incase no one knows who she is ).
The presenters in the studio all seemed awed by her very attractive features and asked he something along the lines of her being told as she grew up how beautiful looking she was. And she said that she never was. She said her parents never praised her on her looks, only on her practical and academic achievements.
As a teenager that really struck me. Especially probably because I knew that I was told alot growing up by my family that I was very pretty, but never really felt much emphasis was put into encouraging my personality or brains.
It was about 17 yrs ago that I heard the interview but this bits stuck in my memory all this time!
I remember it when I`m sometimes looking at my son and thinking 'what a good looking fella'. It reminds me not to mention that out loud as much as I think it - as he already hears from strangers all the time how 'pretty' (its the longhair lol) he is.