What are your thoughts on Child Beauty Pageants?

[aprilgail2]

I think they are sick. Most of those women should never have been allowed to have children the way they exploit them! Nothing like turning your little child into a tiny little hooker- they disgust me!

 

[Took]

If they weren't dressed, made-up, and taught to move around like miniature hookers, I might feel differently about them..

As they currently stand, I wouldn't be surprised to learn that a large part of the audience is made up of pedophiles..

ditto

 

[Eeyore'sthebest]

On one episode of "Toddlers and Tiaras" there was a woman with five daughters (two were twins). She had them all in the pageants (I believe the oldest were around six). Anyway, the mom was talking about the twins and said the one looked just like her and that she won a lot. The mom said the other girl had a big nose and didn't win much, because she was timid. The little girl said she didn't like the pageants, because she lost to her sister.

OMG! I saw this episode too. How sad were you for the second twin. Even in the beginning my 9 yo DD turned to me with her jaw hanging open and said "I can't believe she just said that about her own daughter!" Come on, if a 9 yo knows you are playing favorites how obvious does it have to be to the poor little girl. Nothing that child did was right. And even when she won the "Director's Award" the mom was like "Wow. She didn't do anything special. I wonder why she won." Only the father seemed happy for her. I really wanted to smack that woman. I hope she sets aside a boat load of money for her kid's therapy bill because that child is going to seriously need it!

 

[raysnkaysmom]

I don't care for them....
My oldest daughter did her first pageant a month before she turned 3. I had NO clue what I was getting into. I curled her hair and bought a dress at a flea market for $25. She had no clue how to walk or anything... but she got up there and had fun. She ended up winning Miss Photogenic and 3rd runner up. She got cool trophies and sashes and was invited to the State Pageant since this was a County Pageant. We were excited, and went. I paid a little more for another dress (after seeing the dresses the other girls wore).. I think I paid $50 - Never put a drop of makeup on her besides clear lip gloss, and again..I was the one to curl her hair. These other girls... - hair pieces, fake eyelashes, $1000 dresses..it was insane. We kept to ourselves at the pool and such and over the 2 day pageant, she won 3rd runner up. We were floored. She loved the trophy!
That Christmas she got to ride in the County Parade in a Snow Queen dress and she was soo pretty. I felt (naively) that we were proving a point, like if your child is naturally pretty, you don't need to doll them up. The next year, we did the County Pageant again, she Won. I have to admit I was proud. That year, at state, she won nothing. We had always done it in fun, never succumbed to the attitudes and methods the others used. At the end of the state pageant, she asked why the other kids trophies were bigger than hers (she was 4, and all kids got a participation trophy). When she asked that.. I thought "Thats it.. I wanted it to be fun, not a competition"..
So, we quit pageants and went to gymnastics..

For a couple yrs following, I became the directors assistant in the county and state pageant, and the things I saw moms do to their kids was pitiful. Not only the fakeness they apply, but the attitudes they portray. Those poor girls

 

[Pigeon]

Ick, on so many levels.

 

[Camicar]

I think most of the little girls are taught to dress and act like prostitutes. I think the mothers are nothing more than pimps.

I think they are a pedophile's dream.


I happened upon the episode with that hideous mother with the twins. To be honest, it made me sick bec my parents did somthing simlar to my sister and I. I was the 'smart one' and my sister was the 'pretty one.' Guess which one they favored? You do not shrug off this kind of brainwashing when you grow up -- it affects you for a long time. It affected both of us negatively. That mother is harming her children - not only the one she does not favor, but also the one she does favor. I hope she's saving their winnings for their therapy bills.

 

[cinmell]

I absolutely despise child beauty pageants.

I think most of the little girls are taught to dress and act like prostitutes. I think the mothers are nothing more than pimps.

I think they are a pedophile's dream.

I agree 100%. They are gross and disgusting. There's no need for little girls to look like mini hookers, no need at all.

 

[Cool-Beans]

Make-up on dancing, prancing children? No, thank you. Don't need or want people lusting after little kids. Don't want to teach kids that looks are all that important. Ew. Ick. I'd like to slap the people involved in that.

But they have the right to do it. I'll make my choices with my kids and they can make theirs with their kids.

 

[BeachGirlFLA]

I think the vast majority of the mothers go vastly overboard and make their daughters look like prostitutes. However, there are a few good ones.

 

[OK!]

They're creepy and weird.

 

[Jenvenza]

They disgust me. I do not see why these babies have to be made up to look like adults! They are beautiful without all the makeup and fake tans and whatever else they use on them. Maybe if they were all natural beauty pageants I would feel differently, but wacthing Toddlers and Tiaras makes me sick.

 

[mjkacmom]

They disgust me. I do not see why these babies have to be made up to look like adults! They are beautiful without all the makeup and fake tans and whatever else they use on them. Maybe if they were all natural beauty pageants I would feel differently, but wacthing Toddlers and Tiaras makes me sick.

I think I'd still find them offensive - why should a child get a trophy for being cute? Dd8 irish dances, and it is VERY pageant-like, with gaudy dresses that can cost thousands of dollars, huge curly wigs, makeup and spray tans (my dd's dress was only $350, I prefer her small bun-wig, and I refuse to use makeup and spray tans), but at least these girls spends hours and hours a week, learning their dances and practicing. They're not just walking on a stage.

 

[KAMLEM]

On one episode of "Toddlers and Tiaras" there was a woman with five daughters (two were twins). She had them all in the pageants (I believe the oldest were around six). Anyway, the mom was talking about the twins and said the one looked just like her and that she won a lot. The mom said the other girl had a big nose and didn't win much, because she was timid. The little girl said she didn't like the pageants, because she lost to her sister.

I saw this, too. My heart was breaking for that little girl. The mother should be ashamed of herself. The older sister was very mean, too. I'm sure that's because her mother is always telling her that she's the pretty one who deserves to win. I think the other little girl was the sweetest thing, I just wanted to pick her up and hug her.

What about the woman with the 2 week old baby boy? She was shocked because he only came in 4th! She made some stupid comment about him being more outgoing (something like that) than her older son. He's 2 weeks old!

I don't know why I watch these shows when I come across them because they make me so angry.

 

[Aisling]

I always watch those shows. I'd never let my kids compete in beauty pageants, natural or glam, because I believe it sends them a bad message. But I still enjoy watching the ones on TV for the value. It amazes me what those mothers do to their little kids. I guess I watch it more to see those nutso moms than the kids.

One interesting thing, there are so many young ladies who did the pageant thing since they were tots, and they say it was good for them. I don't know if they're just brainwashed, still trying to please their mothers, or really mean it.

 

[PaulaSB12]

I watched a TV programme this week called "Baby Beauty Queens: Mini Miss UK", the UK's first US style child beauty pageant this week, the brainchild of a middle-aged former beauty queen named Pam.

Pushy mums, fake tans, hair extensions, false nails, £1,000 dresses, too many of the dresses were so trashy too making them look like mini adults. Some of the children had so much make-up on, they looked like hookers.

- all standard beauty pageant fare.

I absolutely despise child beauty pageants.

Did you see the "sexy" poses that mother put on the internet for her NINE year old daughter, that woman should have her children removed from her what is the difference with that and a peadophile?

 

[torinsmom]

My DS was in pageants until he was 3. We only did the one pageant, Sunburst. For boys, it is pretty much dressing them up and getting them to smile. He loved the trophies and the attention. When he was 6, he asked to do a pageant again and we did one. He always did well, but it WAS shocking to see the little girls at the national pageant! Jon Benet is in one of our books we got with all the pictures in it.

I would never do it with a girl.

You just never know who is watching in the audience.

In most pageants, you cannot get into the ballroom unless you have a ticket, and they are only sold to friends and family. It's true that anyone can see your kids in the lobby or pool, but that is true at any pool or any beach, KWIM?

I have watched a few of those type shows. I can't stand them.

On one episode of "Toddlers and Tiaras" there was a woman with five daughters (two were twins). She had them all in the pageants (I believe the oldest were around six). Anyway, the mom was talking about the twins and said the one looked just like her and that she won a lot. The mom said the other girl had a big nose and didn't win much, because she was timid. The little girl said she didn't like the pageants, because she lost to her sister.

I have seen a couple parents that don't do the full "glam" and the kids look normal (some even win; imagine that).

I saw that episode and that was terrible. She bought the sister a dress and the twin had to wear the one with a tear. She even made her feel bad that it had a tear. I wonder if the director saw some of that behavior and gave her the award to help her feel better?

What about the woman with the 2 week old baby boy? She was shocked because he only came in 4th! She made some stupid comment about him being more outgoing (something like that) than her older son. He's 2 weeks old!

That mom was cuckoo. She was talking about how the baby loved being on stage and really wanted to win. Her other son was cute though, and seemed like he really liked it.

Marsha

 

[NotUrsula]

I'm not going to defend these things, because I think that having young children compete in ANYTHING is essentially ridiculous, and pageants are especially wasteful because of the money involved, I feel that I have to comment on previous comments referencing pedophiles.

It is important to understand that dressing a child to look like an adult will NOT make that child more attractive to pedophiles. It is even MORE important to realize that the reverse is also true, that dressing your child to look as young and innocent as possible will NOT make them less attractive to pedophiles.

The younger and more innocent a child appears, the more likely it will be for a pedophile to be attracted. Young and innocent is what turns these people on -- most of them would have no interest whatsoever in someone who looked over 21 except for being only three feet tall.

 

[BeachGirlFLA]

I'm not going to defend these things, because I think that having young children compete in ANYTHING is essentially ridiculous, and pageants are especially wasteful because of the money involved, I feel that I have to comment on previous comments referencing pedophiles.

It is important to understand that dressing a child to look like an adult will NOT make that child more attractive to pedophiles. It is even MORE important to realize that the reverse is also true, that dressing your child to look as young and innocent as possible will NOT make them less attractive to pedophiles.

The younger and more innocent a child appears, the more likely it will be for a pedophile to be attracted. Young and innocent is what turns these people on -- most of them would have no interest whatsoever in someone who looked over 21 except for being only three feet tall.

Those are actually interesting points that I never thought of before....one question though, you say that you think having young children compete in anything is ridiculous. Does that include academic competitions or are you just talking about very young children...too young to compete in those?

 

[NotUrsula]

I mean younger children, let's say under age 6. For the most part they are too young to understand the concept of competition as a gradation of skill or talent -- they just cannot rationally understand why the other child got the prize and they did not.

 

[Mickey's Minion]

I think I'd still find them offensive - why should a child get a trophy for being cute? Dd8 irish dances, and it is VERY pageant-like, with gaudy dresses that can cost thousands of dollars, huge curly wigs, makeup and spray tans (my dd's dress was only $350, I prefer her small bun-wig, and I refuse to use makeup and spray tans), but at least these girls spends hours and hours a week, learning their dances and practicing. They're not just walking on a stage.

Same with my DD. She cheers, so we also have to deal with the skimpy and very expensive uniforms (although ours were only $350.00 + $100 for shoes) and hours applying the "hooker" makeup and hair. Thank goodness it seems the trend for allstar cheer seems to be moving slowly towards more natural "stage" makeup than all the layers of glitter that were so popular for years and years. But since I don't approve of it, but allow gobs of glitter eyeshadow, bright red lipstick and stock in hair products because that is how it is done, I cannot fault other activities that have "hooker" makeup

Bt like your daughter...my child spends a minimum of 2 hours, 3x per week doing incredibly aerobic and athletic activities. And that is on a slow week - usually it is much, much more. She has to be able to tumble like an Olympic gymnast, dance like a pro, be able to lift another person in the air balancing on one foot, and perform an intense aerobic exercise for 2 and a half minutes without stopping over and over again during practice.

She is not just going out on stage, flirting with the judges and being judged on her smile and how "cute" she is. She is a part of a team and they are judged on skill.

As for pageants, I would never have my daughter do it, but I don't have as much problem with the all natural pageants. I still think it teaches young women the wrong values, but at least the little girls are not strutting around like little prostitutes.

But the Glitz ones -those are disgusting. To tell a 6 year old that they are not good enough because they have some imperfection like a natural gap where they lost their front tooth, and now have to wear flippers (fake teeth), is abhorrent.

To teach a young child how to bat their eyes and flirt with grown men (judges) to win their approval (and the trophy) is abhorrent.

To teach a young child that their pictures they take are not good enough, they have to be retouched to be "acceptable" is abhorrent. Have you ever seen the "glitz" pictures with the altered eyes and smiles that make them look like little aliens? They are soooo creepy.

To teach young women that their self worth should be based solely on how they look and how they present themselves to those judging them is abhorrent.

And don't bring in they are being judged on talent too - the talent and question portion of the glitz pageants is a joke.

While I am sure there are many good parents involved in both types of pageants, the majority of the ones I have met are the over-the-top ones, the ones that cause you to mutter under your breath "you have to have a license to have a dog, but anybody can have children" as you shake your head in disbelief.