Does your daughter participate in pageants?
After the dress shopping, the rehearsals, the preparation and the primping, young children take the stage for their 30 seconds of recognition.
And under all the make-up and fake hair, I begin to wonder where their smiles are–the innocent smiles that prove that they’re kids.
But are beauty pageant kids really kids anymore?
What are beauty pageants teaching young kids? That in order to win they have to be physically beautiful?
I’ll tell you what they teach kids…
I covered a child beauty pageant last year, and one of the categories was “Best Personality.” I wonder how the judges came up with the winner for that category by just looking at the contestants.
Some parents who put their children through beauty pageants claim that being on stage and showing off the make-up, the hair, the dress, the shoes, the pose, helps them build confidence. That may be true, but it’s also teaching them that awards are given to those who have the best physical attributes.
There are many other ways that children can build confidence, and in much more creative ways that by being forced into beauty pageants by their parents. Putting make-up on your child, damaging her hair with the hot curling irons, and drenching her head in hair-spray won’t teach her confidence.
What do you think of girls in tiaras? Does your daughter participate in beauty pageants? Is this healthy behavior on both your part and your daughter’s?
What Do You Think of Girls in Tiaras? [ParentingGirls.com]
