Thursday, September 10, 2009

Dear Lord, Please Help My Daughter Take Home a Crown

Things heard on "Toddlers and Tiaras", a TLC show about child beauty pageants:


"Sierra is very shy. Pageants will help her get over her shyness." - as mom forces her crying daughter on to the stage.


"Both my twins do pageants but Maddy wins more. I don't have favorites but Riley's nose is a little crooked and she's not as outgoing. That's why she doesn't win."


"My daughter isn't spoiled. She just gets what she wants."


"We go to pageants to win the money. You can win up to $1000 at a pageant."

Later, when asked how much she spent on pageants, "about $10,000."


"If we saved the money we spent on pageants, I would have enough to send all three of my girls to college."


"I have three boys. They all do pageants because I wanted girls."


"Dear Lord, please help my girls take home a crown today."


"I take pageants seriously because Hailey takes pageants seriously." How old is Hailey? Four.


Pageant question: What do you want to be when you grow up. "I want to marry a rich man!"


"Pageants have given Isabella confidence. Now when someone pays her a compliment she says, 'I know!'"


"My daughter gets highlights because her hair color is very average." Mom of a 6 year old.


"Tanning is no big deal. I actually prefer my daughter tanned because her natural complexion is too fair." Mom of 7 year old.



Add on top of this the skimpy clothing, WAY too much makeup and hair pieces, and the dance routines that include shaking their hips and butts, and winking and blowing kisses to the judges. Is anyone else deeply disturbed by this?

9 comments:

Molly said...

ME!!!!!!!!!! :::Raises hand and waves it frantically:::

I'm totally disturbed by that show. I can't imagine what those kids must feel like. and those parents. Living vicariously much? It's sad that little girls are being taught that makeup, spray tans and rich men are what they need to be happy, loved, and pretty.

JonesEthiopia said...

Truly appalling!!! I've seen the show once and couldn't believe how horrifying it was!

Seekingsunshine said...

I was just talking about this with my DH. I HATE that show. It is horrible how those children are exploited and don't get the chance to be what they are... innocent children! All that makeup and stuff looks disgusting on a child that age. The way those mothers are with their children makes me mad too. It is just so sad to me that they can even do that to their children.

janiece said...

All I can say is the therapists are going to have a booming (even more then now) business as these children grow up. And to the mom who likes her daughter tanned--lady I'd really like to work myself out of a job (for anyone not knowing--I'm a nurse). She's going to end up looking like a ragged wrinkled prune at 25--possibly with skin cancer! Sunscreen anyone?

Mommy K said...

Agreed. It really is sickening. And these poor girls will grow up and know nothing different. Our society really is going quickly down the drain...in all aspects.

Anonymous said...

It's like a train wreck, you can't help but watch so you can go crazy commenting on these wacky parents...can you say "early sexualized behavior"...

cathy said...

ok, yes i'm disturbed, but also slightly relieved that at least i'm not THAT bad a mother...

los cazadores said...

YES! I am frightened BEYOND everything by this, it's creepy.

BTW, I just found your comments about the book I am writing (slowly! he he)...thank you for your words of support! I'm going to come back and catch up on what I've been missing here when my eyes don't feel like they are going to spontaneously implode if I look at the computer any more tonight.

xoxo!

Cindy

Nikki said...

OH MY GOD. Ugh... how i hate that show. And yet, when I flip through the channels and see it on, I always stop to watch. Weird...