kids and beauty pageants?

i wouldnt ever do it.

I am completely against child beauty pageants. There is enough BS in the everyday world that young girls have to see that tell them they are not good enough unless they look a certain way. There is no need to instill that nonsense in them at such a young age.
At that age a girl should ask her mommy 'am I pretty' and her mother should tell her that she is because all little girls are beautiful.

I would not personally but I don't want to tell other parents they cannot do it. I just don't value the fake aspect of pageants and trying to find "talent" in your looks. I value imagination, free play, unstructured time with my child, and outings in nature or urban places like museums or zoos. I don't assume every parent has the same values I do so to each their own.  I am sure a pagent parent would tell me there is plenty of creativity in entering a pagent and their child has plenty of free time.  I guess when it comes down to it I am not interested.

no i dont agree with it, i have seen the show and most of the moms are physically gross (fat and unkept) and seem to be living through their poor kids. no i dont like it one bit... i am okay with costume contest, things that dont look at your kid for their beauty as judged by random strangers. why would you put your kid up to that?? so superficial.  i dont think doing it makes you a bad parent alone... but i think it is an indication of a shallow person.

I think the whole concept is incredibly depressing.

I'd rather expose my 5 yr old daughter to something like the Dove campaign for real beauty or Girl Scouts or...well you get the idea. Something that tells her she's beautiful for WHO she is not what she looks like. Every little girl is a gorgeous person full of potential. She can be anything. The idea that her looks and 'talent' should be what gets her noticed from the get-go is just depressing. Telling her if she teases her hair, puts on make-up and struts her stuff in the right dress can win her a grown and some flowers doesn't sit well with me. I'd rather find her slightly disheveled in the muddy flower and veggie garden she plants herself, smiling her bright smile. Or being rewarded for her good, kind heart. She's a beautiful girl on the outside - but she's a breathtaking human being from the inside out. We celebrate THAT.

I was in pageants as a child. My mom and I had fun with them. Some do go overboard but not anymore than the Sports Parents, Academic Parents and others who also tend to live through their kids. My best friends mom was very into her edcuation so much so my friend at 16 committed suicide when she got two B's in her AP classes. My friend was brilliant and her mom would never let up. My friend knew her mom would ground her and not allow her to do anything until she was making straight A's in her high school and AP classes.

On my soccer team there were parents who were insane about the game. They would curse and yell at their kids. The kids hated the sport they used to love because of mom and dad.

Any parent can go overboard in any area when they make it about them and not the child. My daughter is in pageants, she makes good grades and she plays sports. Everything she accomplishes is her accomplishment.

Ok I used to be completely against beauty pageants and thought anyone who put their daughter in one was living out some fantasy about being a beauty queen through their daughter. Then I watched an episode of Toddlers and Tiaras. They had one little girl who had Alopecia, a condition that makes your hair fall out, so she was bald and wore wigs. Her mom said the little girl asked her if she could try a pageant and she said ok. Ever since, the little girl wanted to continue because she said when she was on stage, she felt "normal" and didn't think about her condition. The mom wasn't pushy, never yelled or belittled the girl. They looked like they were genuinely having fun. and the girl would win because she was having fun! So I think if a girl wants to try it and likes it, it's ok. But the moms who are pushy and get mad at their young daughters because she forgot her "routine" those are the ones who piss me off!

i agree amelied..i think its too much ur supposed to want to wait as long ass you can before your daughter starts wanting to wear make up and wear little short skirts ect. but these women are introducing this to them as young as 3 years old seriously putting eyeliner on a child that young?

I think it's horrid to do that to a kid. They don't need that stress. Let them just be kids.