Earlier tonight, while recovering from the remnants of the virus that's kept me down for the majority of the summer, I found myself on The Learning Channel (TLC). Not a big deal, if you can ignore the worst reality show to grace the small screen since Fox's Temptation Island. Toddlers and Tiaras is an hour-long program featuring families involved in the world of children's beauty pageants. For forty-five minutes I watched parents recieve social mileage, and compensation for their own emotional needs and insecurities through the objectification of their children. Babies, toddlers, preschoolers, and so on were paraded around on stage like rare breeds at a dog show.
Spray-on tans, partials called "flippers" designed to hide gaps and missing teeth, dresses worth thousands of dollars, foundation, blush, eye-liner, pageant coaches, and more are part of the world these children live in. Instead of forming real relationships with peers their own age, they are competing against them for asinine prizes. Plus, these girls, (yes the majority of them are girls although there are some boys), are being encouraged to wear skimpy outfits, and do dance moves that look like something out of a 50 Cent video. After almost seven years working as an Early Childhood professional, I know from experience that pageantry is inappropriate for youth experiencing their most critical stages of growth and development.
I mean, seriously, what are these parents thinking? Children will do just about anything to please the adults in their lives, they seek praise and approval, and so if Mommy wants them to strut around on stage like a peacock they'll do it. Naturally, all of these parents claim that their children are healthy and well-adjusted, but I beg to differ based on what the actual contestants said. A little girl didn't like her father on stage with her, because he didn't "sparkle", and his choreography for a "Daddy and Me" segment at a competition was "off". Another stated that her moods depend on whether or not she wins or loses a competition, which shows her entire sense of self-worth is tied up in crowns, ribbons, and the accolades of strangers.
Excuse me?
I'm sorry, but it's a bad sign when children start viewing others as a means to an end, rather than human beings with their own unique abilities and worth. It's also a bad sign when a child is wearing more makeup than a professional model, and has moves rival that of a seasoned stripper. If these parents want something to show off, then they need to get a purebred dog or cat, instead of turning their children into pint-sized call girls.
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Spray-on tans, partials called "flippers" designed to hide gaps and missing teeth, dresses worth thousands of dollars, foundation, blush, eye-liner, pageant coaches, and more are part of the world these children live in. Instead of forming real relationships with peers their own age, they are competing against them for asinine prizes. Plus, these girls, (yes the majority of them are girls although there are some boys), are being encouraged to wear skimpy outfits, and do dance moves that look like something out of a 50 Cent video. After almost seven years working as an Early Childhood professional, I know from experience that pageantry is inappropriate for youth experiencing their most critical stages of growth and development.
I mean, seriously, what are these parents thinking? Children will do just about anything to please the adults in their lives, they seek praise and approval, and so if Mommy wants them to strut around on stage like a peacock they'll do it. Naturally, all of these parents claim that their children are healthy and well-adjusted, but I beg to differ based on what the actual contestants said. A little girl didn't like her father on stage with her, because he didn't "sparkle", and his choreography for a "Daddy and Me" segment at a competition was "off". Another stated that her moods depend on whether or not she wins or loses a competition, which shows her entire sense of self-worth is tied up in crowns, ribbons, and the accolades of strangers.
Excuse me?
I'm sorry, but it's a bad sign when children start viewing others as a means to an end, rather than human beings with their own unique abilities and worth. It's also a bad sign when a child is wearing more makeup than a professional model, and has moves rival that of a seasoned stripper. If these parents want something to show off, then they need to get a purebred dog or cat, instead of turning their children into pint-sized call girls.
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