Being Nice or Subtle Racism?

My children are beautiful. That goes without saying. My daughter is showered with compliments every time she leaves the front door. She is learning to be gracious and accept compliments with a polite "Thank you". Previously, if told she was pretty she would respond, "I know" with a narcissistic confidence that made me cringe. My son is only 13 months old so he just looks like "whatever" when people tell him he's handsome or cute. So, I respond with a "thank you " for him. Evidently it pays to be beautiful because on occasion, (more often than not) my daughter is actually given money along with compliments. I'm serious. Anything from a quarter to $1. At first I wouldn't let her take it because I mean, I thought it was just strange for people to give her money just because she was cute. Now my son is starting to get money as well. I happened to mention it to my mother and she was outraged. She claims that it's a racist gesture and I shouldn't let them accept the money. I tried to explain that it wasn't just Caucasian folk giving up the dough but people of all races. I don't really think she heard me though. She kept insisting it was a racist gesture. When I asked how she told me that back in the day Caucasian's used to give money to little black children because they assumed that they were poor and needed it. The cuter the kid, the more money they got. If they were 'clean' and 'well behaved' they were also rewarded with money. Ok, ok...that does sound racist but as I said the money is coming from people of all ethic groups not just Caucasians. Besides my mother is borderline racist. I really don't think that's the reason why little old white people give my kids money. Am I being naive? What do you think?