........................

[NTDreams]

Are you friggin kidding me? With all of the visual arts out there you can't "SEE" creativity?

If some one meets you for the first time UNLESS you are at an event of that type, no one can see it.

 

[Rora]

I was a pageant girl but thankfully my mother wasn't crazy. We seriously only did it for fun and I was the one who wanted to do it. I think I won once in all my 5-7 years of doing it.

I loved getting dressed up, getting my hair done, etc but I didn't look at all like the little girls today.. that is just sad and a waay to extreme. Those poor little girls are going to be so messed up in the long run.

 

[prettyprincessbelle]

I was a pageant girl, but I started when I was 17 and did my last pageant when I was 20. It was very very expensive and very competitive. Usually the girls who won were girls who had a lot of practice and were doing it since they were 13. The big difference between older girl pageants (13 to 26) and the younger girls that were on that TV show is there is an interview portion where more than 50% of your score is based on. If you can't speak and you don't have anything intelligent to say, forget it. But, I learned a major lesson doing pageants and I know I'll never do them again.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

If some one meets you for the first time UNLESS you are at an event of that type, no can see it.

I don't believe that. Everyone exudes a certain something about them. It is in the way they carry themselves and how they act when talking to others. It is a certain something that you can't place your finger on. Like a certain sparkle if you will. You can be dressed like you shop at Garbage R Us and it wouldn't matter because kindness and brightness will shine through in the same way a negative shrew will come across as a negative shrew.

Appearance is important on some level. Dressing neatly and appropriately does convey something but the problem is that these children are not dressed appropriately at all. In what instance would you think that a child needs to have hilighted hair, fake nails, a spray tan, fake teeth, makeup that is spackled on, and a dress that looks like it is from the Bunny Ranch? What kind of impression do you think that makes? Certainly not a very good one. Having your mom pack on the Mac and tease your hair within an inch of life and then pinning in the fake hair and then telling you that you are not cute because your teeth fell out - like they are supposed to!- doesn't really do anything to foster self esteem in these children. It will only make them doubt themselves and constantly strive to win approval from their mess of a Mom who wants this dream for themselves. They will never be good enough because their own Mom doesn't think that she (herself) is good enough.

A child cannot decide that they want this. Sorry but a 2 year old doesn't have a yearning to be in pageants. That is the Mom who wants them in it. Maybe those Moms should spend a little more time dressing themselves and taking care of themselves so their self esteem can rise a bit and lay off and let their kids be kids. Missing teeth and all.

I am not flaming you but I just feel very strongly about these types of things. I think they are a wacko magnet and are all about competitive parents.
JMHO.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

I was a pageant girl, but I started when I was 17 and did my last pageant when I was 20. It was very very expensive and very competitive. Usually the girls who won were girls who had a lot of practice and were doing it since they were 13. The big difference between older girl pageants (13 to 26) and the younger girls that were on that TV show is there is an interview portion where more than 50% of your score is based on. If you can't speak and you don't have anything intelligent to say, forget it. But, I learned a major lesson doing pageants and I know I'll never do them again.

Just curious, would you ever let your children do then?

 

[C.Ann]

Well I don't care what anyone says. These pageants are the mothers living their dreams. They just use their kids to participate. It makes me sick. Dressing up for fun is one thing. Dressing like a streetwalker is quite another. I think any parent who thinks it is a good idea to dress their pre-schooler up in full Joan Collins makeup and a Dynasty like dress and then parade them in front of a room full of people to be judged needs therapy because they are seriously messed up.
There are no redeeming qualites in pageants as far as I am concerned. I have yet to see a Mom that has gone through pageants her whole life that is now putting her kids in them. The Moms that we see on these specials are not exactly pageant material (nor am I so I am not slamming them) and they are so lacking in self esteem it is ridiculous. They are making their child be everything they never thought were (beautiful) and what they always wanted to be. Those women would be beautiful if they were not so focused on acting like Gypsy Rose Lee. Enjoy your children. Celebrate them for who they are not for who you want to be.
I think it is a form of abuse and a magnet for wackos. JMHO.

ETA- Yes- I am very judgmental on this subject. I know, so no need to flame me for it.

I don't believe that. Everyone exudes a certain something about them. It is in the way they carry themselves and how they act when talking to others. It is a certain something that you can't place your finger on. Like a certain sparkle if you will. You can be dressed like you shop at Garbage R Us and it wouldn't matter because kindness and brightness will shine through in the same way a negative shrew will come across as a negative shrew.

Appearance is important on some level. Dressing neatly and appropriately does convey something but the problem is that these children are not dressed appropriately at all. In what instance would you think that a child needs to have hilighted hair, fake nails, a spray tan, fake teeth, makeup that is spackled on, and a dress that looks like it is from the Bunny Ranch? What kind of impression do you think that makes? Certainly not a very good one. Having your mom pack on the Mac and tease your hair within an inch of life and then pinning in the fake hair and then telling you that you are not cute because your teeth fell out - like they are supposed to!- doesn't really do anything to foster self esteem in these children. It will only make them doubt themselves and constantly strive to win approval from their mess of a Mom who wants this dream for themselves. They will never be good enough because their own Mom doesn't think that she (herself) is good enough.

A child cannot decide that they want this. Sorry but a 2 year old doesn't have a yearning to be in pageants. That is the Mom who wants them in it. Maybe those Moms should spend a little more time dressing themselves and taking care of themselves so their self esteem can rise a bit and lay off and let their kids be kids. Missing teeth and all.

I am not flaming you but I just feel very strongly about these types of things. I think they are a wacko magnet and are all about competitive parents.
JMHO.

-----------------

I totally agree with everything you have said..

 

[prettyprincessbelle]

Just curious, would you ever let your children do then?

No way. Not my toddler or pre-teen. If she got 16 and up and wanted to, I would let her try. 16 is old enough to decide if it's something you really want to do. I would just tell her my experience at that age with pageants and bite my tongue. But I would not be the crazy pageant Moms I saw, even with the older girls. I promised myself that with sports too if my kids wanted to do sports. I’ve seen way too many crazy parents playing competitive sports in high school.

The pageants in my town, even with the state level in some systems is all about who you know, who knows you and who your parents are.

 

[NTDreams]

Also I would like to point out the dress lengths of one of the most famous child stars... Shirley Temple. I guess I just don't see the harm.. I never once heard any of the parents say to their child they weren't pretty enough though.

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

Also I would like to point out the dress lengths of one of the most famous child stars... Shirley Temple. I guess I just don't see the harm.. I never once heard any of the parents say to their child they weren't pretty enough though.

Not all parents are horrible about it. But the thing is..sometimes actions speak louder than words.

 

[xoprincessmomxo]

Also I would like to point out the dress lengths of one of the most famous child stars... Shirley Temple. I guess I just don't see the harm.. I never once heard any of the parents say to their child they weren't pretty enough though.

They don't have to say it. It's made very clear when they don't win.

 

[Debbie7452]

My Mom enrolled me in a pageant when I was a toddler/preschooler. Mainly b/c so many people told her, "Your daughter should compete." Well, when she contacted the agency in charge they told her, "We like our girls to look like little girls. Not a lot of makeup, no fancy hairdos, no big dresses." My Mom was super psyched about this. So she makes me this little red dress with a white pinafore with strawberries embroidered on it, I loved that dress, and bought some sensitive skin makeup for my cheeks and off we went.

We show up and even in 1984 it looked quite a bit like that show. Girls in floor length ball gowns, hair teased into beehives, caked on makeup. My Grandma was beside herself, not to mention my Mom. I didn't win, needless to say. The prizes went to the girls whose moms slathered on mascara and painted their nails, and were wearing $200 gowns at the age of 5.

It was a mess, but it was something that has stuck with me. These people don't want "little girls" on view at these pageants, they want miniature adults. And that is truly frightening. I watched that show, and admittedly I feel so bad for those little girls. I agree, illegal. It's just another form of child abuse when it is in the wrong hands.

I don't have anything to offer about pageants, but amyhughes I suffer from Vertigo and your dancing avatar next to your posts makes it act up like crazy. You seem so nice and I really feel bad that I have to zip past your posts because of it...maybe I'm not the only one affected?

 

[Mouse House Mama]

No way. Not my toddler or pre-teen. If she got 16 and up and wanted to, I would let her try. 16 is old enough to decide if it's something you really want to do. I would just tell her my experience at that age with pageants and bite my tongue. But I would not be the crazy pageant Moms I saw, even with the older girls. I promised myself that with sports too if my kids wanted to do sports. I’ve seen way too many crazy parents playing competitive sports in high school.

The pageants in my town, even with the state level in some systems is all about who you know, who knows you and who your parents are.

Thank you for answering.

Also I would like to point out the dress lengths of one of the most famous child stars... Shirley Temple. I guess I just don't see the harm.. I never once heard any of the parents say to their child they weren't pretty enough though.

Shirley Temple was dressed like a child of the time. She was not dressed up like an adult. Most children of that era dressed the same way. The length is not the issue. The fact that the dresses resemble adult (and sometimes XX adult) clothing is what the problem is.

 

[prettyprincessbelle]

You're welcome!

I truly think the fake tanning and fake teeth is so bizarre.

I felt bad for that poor little English girl. She looked older than me with her bleached blonde hair.

 

[Krispy]

I taped it and I'm watching it now - UGH it makes me want to throw up in my mouth - these little girls are beautiful WITHOUT the makeup and crap!

 

[Stacerita]

I would have to disagree. I think children in general know what makes them happy and not happy. While those feelings change rapidly it doesn't make them any less valid. In the long run is it really hurting them to learn the importance of presenting ones self well? While some of the stipulations are crazy like tanning salons, make-up and pretty dresses are fine IMHO.

If a parent is doing their job right, they don't need pagents to do that. DD has amazing self esteem and knows how to present herself. She does not need tanning, make up or dresses to do so. Any parent who says that they do, doesn't think enough of their child to begin with.

DD and I were watching the show right before this one, and when it started, she couldn't believe it. She asked me to change the channel because the show was weird.

 

[pirateslifefourme]

I think these should be outlawed. what a horrible thing to do to a child. I have noticed something though, MOST of the mothers on these shows are not so attractive. i believe they are living out their dreams thru their daughter. No kids comes up with the idea to do a beauty pageant, that is all the parents, yet all i hear the parents say is "this is what my child loves to do". No what they LOVE to do is please their parents, and they know you want them to do it. its a recipe to create a mess of a woman later in life. there is WAY more to life than what others think of your beauty.