Absolutely nauseating...Toddlers and Tiaras

[U2_rocks!]

and a version of cheerleading will be an exhibition sport this summer from what I have heard. Although, it is being renamed 'stunt and tumbling' and is competing as another type of gymnastics event.


Glitzing things up to catch the judges eye has been going on for ages in all sorts of sports.

30 years ago when I was showing quarter horses, you couldn't have enough sterling on your tack or yourselves. You had to have a plate sized sterling belt buckle, sterling touches on your clothes and your show halter, saddle, headstall, reins, etc had to have as much silver as possible with as little leather showing as possible.

I do have a problem with young toddlers and young children being in contests where the main criteria of judging is "facial beauty" and how much your clothes cost. What are you telling your child? Looking for the Eden Wood video on the Talk (I am very, very, very open with what kids can perform, but O...M...G, no 5 year old should be doing that) and I came across a bunch of Eden vs ???, who is more beautiful videos. Really, at 5?

I think once the kids are older, say tweens and up, who understand that this is all about poise and how you carry yourself and they make their own decisions, then sure go for it.

This is the judging criteria for the Little Miss Glitz pageants. 50% of your score is how much your clothes cost, 25% is how much makeup, fake teeth, fake eyelashes, fake hair you have on, and 25% on personality - which is really the only thing the kid can control.

This is the section of our site where you will find information regarding the Judging and Prizes for our various Little Miss And Mister Glitz Pageants!

SCORING FOR AGE DIVISION BEAUTY TITLES WILL BE AS FOLLOWS:

Personality Scores: Stage Presence And Personality/Friendliness - 25 points

Appearance: Overall Appearance, Facial Beauty And Hair - 25 points

Dress: Appropriateness And Overall Beauty Of Dress/Formal Attire - 25 points

GlamWear/Outfit Of Choice: Appropriateness/Overall Appearance Of Attire - 25 points

This is a contest for the parents to outdo each other in glitz dresses and glamwear, and how much they can tart their kid up, not about the child nor what their ability is. That only counts for 25% of the score.

I agree with you about the pageants. I think they are awful.

I also understand that certain sports/activities are enhanced by glitz, but with gymnastics it's all about performance (or it should be). I just don't see the need for lower level child gymnasts to get dolled up. When you reach the level where you may be televised then sure, put on makeup so the cameras and harsh lights will flatter you more. If it's a huge event that thousands are watching, then yes I do understand the "pretty" aspect. But certainly all the meets my DD has done have been athletic in nature and not particularly glamorous, and I like that.

 

[goofy!]

Oh heck, don't use the phrase "tart your kid up" people get all kinds of twisted over it!

Oh, wait...you only used it in relation to the PAGEANT kids, you'll be fine.

 

[goofy!]

I agree with you about the pageants. I think they are awful.

I also understand that certain sports/activities are enhanced by glitz, but with gymnastics it's all about performance (or it should be). I just don't see the need for lower level child gymnasts to get dolled up. When you reach the level where you may be televised then sure, put on makeup so the cameras and harsh lights will flatter you more. If it's a huge event that thousands are watching, then yes I do understand the "pretty" aspect. But certainly all the meets my DD has done have been athletic in nature and not particularly glamorous, and I like that.

Sorry, I didn't mean for it to sound like I disagreed with you. I agree that sports should focus on the athletic ability. Just commenting that we are not going to get rid of a certain amount of glitz in many areas.

 

[princessmom29]

Oh heck, don't use the phrase "tart your kid up" people get all kinds of twisted over it!

Oh, wait...you only used it in relation to the PAGEANT kids, you'll be fine.

Actually, I think its pretty tacky to use it to refer to ANY child. Why does anyone need to say that about someone's baby? Add to that list others I ahve seen here like your favorite, hoochie. Why does anyone need to call someone's child names?? I think that says more about the speaker than the child.

 

[jen0610]

YOu picked trhe absolute worst examples you can find of dance costumes. Those are HORRIBLE. Here are some my DD wore this year. These are what they are SUPPOSED to look like:
http://www.weissmansreadytoship.com/tiny_ballet/4956.aspx
https://curtaincallcostumes.com/products/product-page-t.php?prodid=1693
I don't see much resemblance to pagent dresses. Our studion would NEVER use most of what you showed. TACKY.

The evolution of DD14's dance costumes, since I got my digital camera.

2006 - 9 years old. Danced to We got the beat, by the Go-Go's. Went with a "go-go" style dress to tie into the name of the band.

2007 - 10 years old. I forget the song.

2008 - 11 years old. A Hannah Montanna song. I have blocked it from my memory.

2009 - 12 years old. Put my blue jeans on - thus their pants look like blue jeans.

2010 - 13 years old. Fame.

I could go thru and pull all of her pictures from her jazz, tap, and production pictures for the same years. The only one that ever showed her midriff was her 2007 year tap. They danced to Dixie Chics Fly. They wore a cowgirl outfit. BUT, for the actual recital, they wore a black tank top that covered their tummies. It didn't look good in the pictures, so I didn't keep any that I took with it on. Even still, the costume fit the song.

 

[goofy!]

Actually, I think its pretty tacky to use it to refer to ANY child. Why does anyone need to say that about someone's baby? Add to that list others I ahve seen here like your favorite, hoochie. Why does anyone need to call someone's child names?? I think that says more about the speaker than the child.

Notice, I never called the child a 'tart'. That would be unkind. I was referring to the actions of the parent, that the mother was tarting up the child.

The child has no control over what their wackadoodle parents do, therefore completely innocent.

On the Talk, Eden's mother said she had already spent over $100,000 on pageants. That is sick. That is her entire undergrad and grad program. So, some of these types of pageants, as shown by the judging criteria in my previous post are nothing but contests for mothers (and Dads) on how much they can spend to outdo each other.

 

[goofy!]

Jen0610 -

Very nice costumes. And I don't see anything wrong with the cowgirl costume as is.

 

[torinsmom]

I find the show interesting. Obviously, TLC picks the most over the top parents and kids to show in tv. Most of the ones they pick are spoiled, but they really seem to like being on stage. My son was in pageants as a baby/toddler. He was a big ham and liked to get up in front of people and grin and dance. Once he stopped enjoying it(around 4), we stopped. I found that about 10% of the parents were like the ones on T & T; the others were just normal people. The kids seemed to like what they were doing. Very few spend the big bucks on dresses, flippers, etc. Again, they use the ones who are over the top.

My niece was in pageants from age 6 on. She is a beautiful, confident young lady now, and a freshman in college(UNC). She credits pageants with building her self esteem and getting her into things like modeling and acting. I don't think pageants are all bad. You get out what you put into it.

 

[jen0610]

Jen0610 -

Very nice costumes. And I don't see anything wrong with the cowgirl costume as is.

Thanks!! She has been doing this since she was 2. First year was just a movement class - getting them to learn right toe tap, left toe tap. She loves every minute she spends at the stuido. Outta almost 60 costumes, she has only disliked one and that is this years Jazz costume.

For the cowboy costume. There was a little girl in that class that was a lot heavier than all the rest of the girls. The studio messured her for the costume, but mom argued that she didn't need a childs XL, that a L would fit just fine. It didn't. To see the little girl squeezed into this thing, broke your heart. I don't even know if an XL would have fit her comfortably. The studio had it altered, adding material to it, but the way the top and skirt laid on her, it left a lot of her tummy exposed. She just stood there with her arms wrapped around her mid-section. They added the black tank to make her more comfortable. And we were fine with that.

 

[FredinFL]

Actually, I think its pretty tacky to use it to refer to ANY child. Why does anyone need to say that about someone's baby? Add to that list others I ahve seen here like your favorite, hoochie. Why does anyone need to call someone's child names?? I think that says more about the speaker than the child.

I never called a child a tart or hoochie either, it was in reference to the costumes they were put in and/or the makeup/hair/glitter/nails/complete outfit being put ON the child.

My point being that you can call it a dance recital or a pageant or Coronation of the Queen, if the outfit is tacky, it's tacky. Climb up on your high horse and pretend I mean the kid if it makes you feel better.

Dance parents are no better than pageant parents if they put their kids in those outfits. Since they keep making those outfits, I figure someone somewhere must be buying them.

 

[princessmom29]

Notice, I never called the child a 'tart'. That would be unkind. I was referring to the actions of the parent, that the mother was tarting up the child.

The child has no control over what their wackadoodle parents do, therefore completely innocent.

On the Talk, Eden's mother said she had already spent over $100,000 on pageants. That is sick. That is her entire undergrad and grad program. So, some of these types of pageants, as shown by the judging criteria in my previous post are nothing but contests for mothers (and Dads) on how much they can spend to outdo each other.

It wasn't directed at you ata ll. The poster quoting you seems to think it is ok to call children "hoochie" if thier parents choose to allow them to wear dance costumes, and equates dance to pagents. I profoundly disagree, and they just don't get it. Thdey were referring to the fact that i didn't apperciate thier comments. It really had nothing to do with you, the poster just drug you into it.

 

[princessmom29]

I never called a child a tart or hoochie either, it was in reference to the costumes they were put in and/or the makeup/hair/glitter/nails/complete outfit being put ON the child.

My point being that you can call it a dance recital or a pageant or Coronation of the Queen, if the outfit is tacky, it's tacky. Climb up on your high horse and pretend I mean the kid if it makes you feel better.

Dance parents are no better than pageant parents if they put their kids in those outfits. Since they keep making those outfits, I figure someone somewhere must be buying them.

If you can't get it, I don't know what else to tell you. Since you are not a part of the dance world, perhaps you shouldn't judge it so harshly since you REALLY don't know a single thing about it other than what you see on tv, and we ALL know TV is NOT reality. Dance is NOT that sane as a pagent. Nowhere close. Dancers need to wear costumes that they can move in and that a re safe for the dancer. Taht is why they are often tight and. or short. SO is class attire. It is a safety issue, and allows for better correction of body positions and form. Are dnace costumes sparkly, yes, do dancers wear makeup, yes. I don't define that as "hoochie". Some dance costumes are, IMO, innappropraite, so are SOME, not all, Pagent outfits. Some danceers use way too much makeup, so do some pagent girls. That doesn't mean all of them fall into these categories. It is all about the choices we as parents are making, and what we choose to allow our children to wear. Common sense has to come in somewhere and say "this is not ok".

My issue with pagents is not the clothes or the makeup. I don't mind little girls dressing up and enjoying themselves. We do it in dance as well. The fake hair, teeth, and tans do bother me, along with many of the makeup styles that seem to be popular but that is NOT the main issue. All of that is external, and in the long run, unimportant. It is the message being sent by all this that i have issue with. The fundamental difference that I see between pagents and dance for personal experience with both is that pagents place the vast majority of emphasis on what the child looks like, and how thier hair and makeup is done while in dance, the children are judged primarily on the content of the routine and thier perfromance of it. As a previous poster pointed out, only 25% of the total score for a pagent has to do with anything other than hair makeup and clothes. Dance competitions typically do not score appearence at all. There are a select few that do, and then it is only 10% of the overall score. A child with the perfect hair, makeup, and costume who has not made an effort to perfect the dance cannot win a dance competition. In many cases hair, makeup, and clothes win pagents, not the little girls wearing them.

I feel that pagents teach girls that all that matters is thier appearence. If they are pretty they don't have to be anything else. I don't feel that is the message that being involved in dance is sending to my DD I think she is learning that no matter what your goals are, you need to work to achieve them. Being pretty and having the right clothes are not the secrets to success. So, it is not about the clothes all.

 

[rie'smom]

The thing I find weird is that these people are all from the south. Are pageants only big in the south? I know they aren't big around here, but I would have thought that they were big on the coasts, etc.

It's very very sad...

Google and you'll see that pageants are nationwide.
Here is a link to some in Minnesota:
http://www.pageantcenter.com/pageant_calendar/minnesota_pageants.html

Am I the only one who actually enjoys this show? Not in like a condescending type way, but I actually usually enjoy it. Mostly because most of the little girls actually enjoy doing this. Not all the kids on the show are divas and the parents aren't all completely crazy.

That being said, some of them do give me the creeps. I remember there was a little boy in one episode who fell off the stage and I thought his mom was going to shoot him. Too much of anything isn't a good thing.

I do know pageant moms and they all seem totally normal though they admit that there are a few crazy parents. I do think the crazy ones are the ones who are featured the most, and that they are the ones who give the pageants a bad stigma.

I also know a girl who does pageants and she is the most beautiful person (on the INSIDE!) and totally modest. I do think that as the girls get older, the pageants become more about their character and ability to communicate rather than their looks. But what do I know? I'll never be inside the pageant world- I just know a few competitors.

Anyway, I'd still much rather have a parent shower their kid with affection like this than abuse them, IMO.

The show is a hoot. There are "backstage" moms and dads in every sport and in everything to do with kids. Some of these parents are train wrecks and others mean well. Would I have ever done pageants with my daughter? No.

There is a saying that if you want to know what a girl will look like when she's older, look at her mother. In some cases, this is scary.

There were diva moms on my DD's T-Ball team! I love my daughter, but I didn't feel the need to make a shirt with her face and name on it to wear to a T-ball game. My family also didn't need to make up a special cheer for when DD came up to "bat". I also didn't complain about which "position" she played on the field. It was entertaining to watch though.

OMG, deja vu! This brought me back to when my 27 yo DS played t- ball, softball, etc. Some of those moms put the T and T moms to shame.

 

[FredinFL]

If you can't get it, I don't know what else to tell you. Since you are not a part of the dance world, perhaps you shouldn't judge it so harshly since you REALLY don't know a single thing about it other than what you see on tv, and we ALL know TV is NOT reality. Dance is NOT that sane as a pagent. Nowhere close. Dancers need to wear costumes that they can move in and that a re safe for the dancer. Taht is why they are often tight and. or short. SO is class attire. It is a safety issue, and allows for better correction of body positions and form. Are dnace costumes sparkly, yes, do dancers wear makeup, yes. I don't define that as "hoochie". Some dance costumes are, IMO, innappropraite, so are SOME, not all, Pagent outfits. Some danceers use way too much makeup, so do some pagent girls. That doesn't mean all of them fall into these categories. It is all about the choices we as parents are making, and what we choose to allow our children to wear. Common sense has to come in somewhere and say "this is not ok".

My issue with pagents is not the clothes or the makeup. I don't mind little girls dressing up and enjoying themselves. We do it in dance as well. The fake hair, teeth, and tans do bother me, along with many of the makeup styles that seem to be popular but that is NOT the main issue. All of that is external, and in the long run, unimportant. It is the message being sent by all this that i have issue with. The fundamental difference that I see between pagents and dance for personal experience with both is that pagents place the vast majority of emphasis on what the child looks like, and how thier hair and makeup is done while in dance, the children are judged primarily on the content of the routine and thier perfromance of it. As a previous poster pointed out, only 25% of the total score for a pagent has to do with anything other than hair makeup and clothes. Dance competitions typically do not score appearence at all. There are a select few that do, and then it is only 10% of the overall score. A child with the perfect hair, makeup, and costume who has not made an effort to perfect the dance cannot win a dance competition. In many cases hair, makeup, and clothes win pagents, not the little girls wearing them.

I feel that pagents teach girls that all that matters is thier appearence. If they are pretty they don't have to be anything else. I don't feel that is the message that being involved in dance is sending to my DD I think she is learning that no matter what your goals are, you need to work to achieve them. Being pretty and having the right clothes are not the secrets to success. So, it is not about the clothes all.

Ok. You saw the same outfits I did. No moves a kid does on a dance floor necessitates some of those outfits.

 

[princessmom29]

Ok. You saw the same outfits I did. No moves a kid does on a dance floor necessitates some of those outfits.

that is really all you got out of that?
that's EXACTLY what I said. There are absolutely some over the top, unnecessary costumes. No question. I don't think they were the norm, however, at least from what I have seen over the years. Over the top, inappropiate things exist in lots of different venues, not just dance or pagents. I don't think you can judge the everyone based on the choices of a few, however and i think choice of outfits is much less important than what the activity is teaching the child.

 

[princessmom29]

Thanks!! She has been doing this since she was 2. First year was just a movement class - getting them to learn right toe tap, left toe tap. She loves every minute she spends at the stuido. Outta almost 60 costumes, she has only disliked one and that is this years Jazz costume.

For the cowboy costume. There was a little girl in that class that was a lot heavier than all the rest of the girls. The studio messured her for the costume, but mom argued that she didn't need a childs XL, that a L would fit just fine. It didn't. To see the little girl squeezed into this thing, broke your heart. I don't even know if an XL would have fit her comfortably. The studio had it altered, adding material to it, but the way the top and skirt laid on her, it left a lot of her tummy exposed. She just stood there with her arms wrapped around her mid-section. They added the black tank to make her more comfortable. And we were fine with that.

This is a lrage part of why our studio doesn't do midriffs as a rule. We have several little girls of different ages with Downs Syndrome. One of the characteristic symptoms is that they tend to be heavier, and carry weight differently. I have helped alter costumes for these girls. We always order extra material to do so. Our director says that she would never want any child to be embarrased to wear thier costume, and we do our best to make it so that they don't have to be, no matter what thier body type.

 

[goofy!]

There were diva moms on my DD's T-Ball team! I love my daughter, but I didn't feel the need to make a shirt with her face and name on it to wear to a T-ball game. My family also didn't need to make up a special cheer for when DD came up to "bat". I also didn't complain about which "position" she played on the field. It was entertaining to watch though.

A couple of years on DS's football team, we had some...umm....crafty moms. One year, the team mom gave us all a huge wooden football emblazoned with our kids picture and number on it, decorated by all sorts of ribbons hanging off of it. We were supposed to wear these like necklaces.

I lost mine.

 

[goofy!]

This is a lrage part of why our studio doesn't do midriffs as a rule. We have several little girls of different ages with Downs Syndrome. One of the characteristic symptoms is that they tend to be heavier, and carry weight differently. I have helped alter costumes for these girls. We always order extra material to do so. Our director says that she would never want any child to be embarrased to wear thier costume, and we do our best to make it so that they don't have to be, no matter what thier body type.

My daughter has Down syndrome and her cheer team has many kids with Downs on it. While the rest of the gym wears crop top uniforms, ours are identical but full top. But even then, they ride up during a routine and look like crop tops.

NOBODY wants to see our kids bellies as low tone is pretty universal to Down syndrome. It is not a pretty sight. So, we asked the gym if it was ok and we bought black camisole leotards to put under the uniforms. (The uniforms are black). Looking at the professional photos after the competition, you can see where the tops rode up to right under their bras, but you couldn't tell from the floor because of the camisoles. Not everybody did it, but those of us with kids with low tone and floppy bellies sure did

Here are our uniforms, makeup and hair. As this is a competitive team, our makeup, hair and bow are also identical to what everybody else in the gym wears.
(edited to add, our gym wears midriff tops, not crop tops. An inch lower )

 

[goofy!]

I also want to know what is up with the creepy head shots the pageant girls take? The eyes are so enlarged, they look like something Steven Spielberg would write about. That age is so cute in its own right, why?????

 

[FredinFL]

Sooooo, what you're saying is that the psychological damage done to pageant girls is so horrific that it ruins their lives forever? these are "bad parents" because they choose to do this with their daughter?

Yet, the physical injuries to competition cheer girls is an okay chance to take? the physical injuries to little gymnasts is okay too? How about the psychological damage to a young girl who wants so desperately to be a ballerina but doesn't have the right shape? or who's feet break and can't take the crushing abuse they take in the pointe shoes? Does the psychological damage equal that of a pageant girl?

Because these are deemed by you "acceptable" activities for children, all these possible problems don't count? Are you saying that EVERY pageant girl has psychological damage?

I think if the kid is having a good time (within the normal confines of an "activity"), people should just butt out and let them do the activity they like. Horrendous costumes, big hair, pushy mother or not.