Toddlers and Tiaras and Tantrums

Posted on February 16, 2010
Filed Under Culture, Media | By Ashley Singh

briannas20crowning20photo2.jpgMy mom told me the other day that when I was a baby, some woman came up to her and told her that she should put me in beauty pageants. She told me this while we were watching this absurd reality show called Toddlers and Tiaras. It’s on TLC and it follows families who have daughters in the beauty pageant circuit circus. The first thing I can’t understand about this show is why the parents continue to say that their child is having fun when obviously she is not—it’s the parents who are living out their dreams through the child, hence the temper tantrums that erupt whenever it’s time for the pageant to start. The kids have fake tans, fake teeth, hair extensions, and makeup that would make a drag queen gag. These kids are learning the worst kinds of values: materialism, winning is everything, beauty is only exterior, and it’s only when you look beautiful that people will like you.

TLC’s website for Toddlers and Tiaras says:

On any given weekend, on stages across the country, little girls parade around wearing makeup, false eyelashes, spray tans and fake hair to be judged on their beauty, personality and costumes. Toddlers and Tiaras follows families on their quest for sparkly crowns, big titles, and lots of cash. The preparation is intense as it gets down to the final week before the pageant. From hair and nail appointments, to finishing touches on gowns, to numerous coaching sessions or rehearsals, each child preps for their performance. But once at the pageant, it’s all up to the judges and drama ensues when every parent wants to prove that their child is beautiful.

But why do you need to prove that your child is beautiful? Kids are just growing up way too fast these days.

Good Morning America recently did a feature about how parents are letting their little girls wear high heels. Now this is something I really don’t understand. Little girls just want to be like their moms, all grown up and fabulous, with all the jewelry and pretty clothes; but high heels on a child, really?

This is all a result of people letting celebrities and shows like Toddlers and Tiaras influence the way they raise their children. As for pageants, I commend those women who turn out great and go on to become Miss America, but I hope that the rest of the girls don’t turn out to be as narcissistic as they are portrayed to be.

  • Share/Save/Bookmark

Comments

Leave a Reply




Security Code: