The main piece that I caught on Good Morning America this morning was the controversy between two moms and daughters involved in beauty pageants. Now, as I understand it, the two daughters involved are five and three years old. Apparently one child had been verbally less than nice to the other girl, telling her that she had copied her tanning and that she was dressed like a hooker. When interviewed this morning, the girl was asked why she said those things to the camera. Her answer, of course, was that her mother told her to say those things. No surprise there.
Beauty pageants for such young children and toddlers have come under fire before – the long term effects on the children participants being questioned. Inevitably, when questioned, parents appear to get a bit defensive, stating that this is what their child wants to do. My question is this: How does a child three years old know that they want to be in a beauty pageant unless their parent first puts them there?
What kind of message are Moms sending to their little girls? In my opinion, this is teaching little girls to lean on their looks for achievement. What happens when they don’t grow up to be perfect Barbie Doll copies? Are the kids really on board for all the sacrifices – practice time, instead of playing with friends time; strict diets – instead of cookies, ice cream and all the other things that their friends get to eat???
I think we should be very cautious not to impose our own “dreams” upon our children.
What do you think?
I agree with your thoughts. Another example of children ruling the parents instead of the parents raising their children.
ReplyDeleteI dont' know - I can't imagine that a child realizes what they are getting into. I think that, all too many times, it is the parent projecting their "dreams" onto the child.
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