Kid Critic: Steer Away From the 2-Year-Old Cowboy

Here's the first of what will be a regular installment on Burkett Humor called the Kid Critic, where I will critique children's performances, children's theater productions, child drawings or paintings, children's stories and any kid-related stuff that the other critics are afraid to talk about with any real or honest dialogue.

I'll tell you straight up if your daughter's performance in the elementary school production of Cinderella is worth leaving work early for. And I'll make sure that you won't embarrass yourself at your house-warming party by hanging your 5-year-old's finger painting project -- which is uninspired and lacks the gravitas of a Pollack or Rothko -- on the fridge.

This first critique is of a video/news story (see video below) that has been abuzz across the Interwebs -- the 2-year-old cowboy. The story claims that Marcus Marriott, of Oregon, "just turned two and he can already rope a calf like the big boys."

Just like the big boys? I don't know. Last time I went to a rodeo, I don't remember seeing any cowboys lassoing a broken snow sled (see photo, above), which appears to be the object that Marcus and his mother refer to as "the calf."

Now, in terms of milestones for a 2-year-old, I do find Marcus' rope skills to be above average in the area of motor skills development, but I don't think he's yet achieved cowboy status. The day I see him rope a real, moving calf and wrestle it to the ground is the day he will earn that label in my book. But until then, he's just another toddler mimicking what he watches... playing rodeo.