Children beauty pageants have been around for so long that every aspect of the competition is considered normal. They always show the young girls having fun dressing up as princess characters with tiaras a size bigger than their head.
However, they disregard the inappropriate aging, dressing, and treatment by promoting the fun side to it. Parents are so oblivious to those aspects they do not take into consideration the fact that pageants could be as much harmful as they are fun.
These children are stripped away from their youthful nature. They are forced to wear costumes that sexualize their figure, learn routines not age appropriate, apply makeup and fake teeth all to win first place. At these extremes, the phrase “child beauty pageants” should not even be implied. These children are forced to act and look like adults, rather than children. Everything that seems childlike is taken away and corrected with fake add-ons. They get bossed around like adults they lose the humours spontaneous behavior all children tend to have.
These pageants expose young contestants, especially girls, to learn that they will not stand a chance at winning unless they have a certain feature ranging from size, and color. They begin to compromise their physical appearances to emphasis on being perfect for the sake of the pageant. These young contestants will eventually develop potential health and mental issues, like eating disorders or body image issues. The lack of genuine attention these children are receiving leads them to potential mental problems like depression, anxiety and bipolar disorders.
These children should be treated accordingly to their age, as their bodies and minds act different from an adult’s mind and body.
An issue concerning beauty pageants is that, they create an environment that is not appropriate for children. Today’s pageants force children to do everything an adult would do and wear. As a result these children believe they are mature enough to act and engage themselves in the same activities as adults. That is not appropriate at all! Parents are dressing their own toddlers in mini clothes to seek attention from the judges and audiences for a better chance at standing out and winning. These children are put at such a risk with their flashy costumes, they obtain unwanted attention from grown men and women. On top of the absurd costumes, parents are paying for their children to learn dance choreography, a lot of the times made more mature than their appropriate ages. Young girls are taught dances pieces that require them to get on the floor, or open their legs towards the audience. Innocently they dance along, not missing a beat.
The fact that parents actually sexualize their children to such extent makes one think if they are at all interested in protecting and teaching their children life skills Beauty competitions teach young girls and boys that beauty is an important factor in becoming number one, and in order for them to be pretty, they realize they need to add makeup on their faces, wear over the top clothes, and be a certain size. When these ideas are instilled in their minds at a young age, they grow believing they are not pretty enough without all the extra accessories. They need to be protected from influences of the pageant, which makes them feel like they should weigh an “X” amount, and intake only an “X” amount of calories per day.
It is crucial that young children use their childhood to develop confidence in themselves and a sense of self-worthiness before they are bombarded by the media’s influences.
