Kent and I found ourselves watching this show the other day and while I was somewhat appalled at the mini glitz, I was glued to the program. Little girls in fancy dresses with hair pieces and caked on make up--who does that to their child at age 3? I know girls like to play dress up, but this might be overboard. Can beauty pageants at 5 years old be healthy?
Here's the thing, I really don't have a problem with pageants. If a girl wants to become Miss America, good for her. Everyone wants to accomplish something and if that's #1 on a young girl's list, great. At least she wants to do something with her life, and I actually think there are some positive aspects to pageants like developing good stage presence and confidence in the public eye. That being said, I think there are some severe drawbacks as well. The constant competition and all-consuming thoughts about body image. Not good. When a girl is older she can choose to be in a pageant, but these little girls are put there by their parents, more specifically their moms. My thoughts here, if the girl is having fun and enjoying what she is doing, that's fine, but when a 4 year old girl is stressed about receiving the next "Supreme Queen" or whatever it's called, that is wrong and mom needs to put her in ballet or on the local soccer team, normal little girl activities.
Anyway, I found this show interesting and I hope those girls realize pageants are just for fun. While crowns are rewarding, they're not everything.
