The saddest crowning ever!

* Chiropractic treatments
*Caviar hair therapy
*Spray tanning
* $3000+ designer dresses
*Custom made fake eyelashes
*Talent coaches
*Custom made hair pieces
*an Hour+ of Make up and hair preparation
*Thousand dollar entry fees
*And MUCH MUCH MORE!

All this to be judged on Beauty, Talent,and personality.

This of course is the 2009 Miss America Pageant. Or Not?!?!


I am talking about Toddlers and Tiaras, a new show on TLC that has my mind boggled.

TLC synopsis:
On any given weekend, on stages across the country, little girls and boys parade around wearing makeup, false eyelashes, spray tans and fake hair to be judged on their beauty, personality and costumes. Toddlers and Tiaras follows families on their quest for sparkly crowns, big titles, and lots of cash.

The preparation is intense as it gets down to the final week before the pageant. From hair and nail appointments, to finishing touches on gowns and suits, to numerous coaching sessions or rehearsals, each child preps for their performance. But once at the pageant, it's all up to the judges and drama ensues when every parent wants to prove that their child is beautiful.

Here is MY synopsis:
Parents with too much time on their hands, and extremely low-self esteem, or jaded self image, use their children to fulfill some void or live vicariously through them, by forcing them to act, look and perform like adults on stages across the country, all the while teaching them that the only important this in life is how you look and the more make-up and less clothes you wear the better!Ohh and the Kids win LOTS of Money for Mommy and Daddy!

I guess what gets me is these parents all say the kids LOVE IT....but yet they have to force them to practice. Half of them act TERRIFIED on stage. Bribery is their(the parents) number one weapon. It is VERY obvious that these parents want this WAY more than these little girls(and boys). Yes that's right. One woman made her little boys do pageants that they CLEARLY didn't want to do...why? She said, they are the girls she never had, so she would make them her girls. I don't make this up people! These parents just amaze me. They are SOOO critical of these kids.Kids...babies in some cases. And the parents act so surprised that they don't want to practice, or get up at 4 am to go to the salon...ugh...yeah! Let me help you out with this one...THEY ARE KIDS!!!! They want to watch cartoons, have sleep-overs, play in the backyard, fight with their siblings, and eat ice cream! Don't be surprised that they aren't compliant!!!
Then there are the Mothers. They make fun of these CHILDREN. Saying things about their weight, their dresses, their hair...their TEETH. Ohh yeah...forgot to tell you they have these things called flippers.They are defined as fake snap-on teeth that cover the pageant child's missing teeth,once they have started to lose their baby teeth. Because GOD FORBID they look like children! I mean, the 7 pounds of make-up,adult styled hair pieces, and belly-less outfits, aren't grown up enough obviously...so they MUST add the "flippers".

And they try to say..."just have fun". WE do this to expose them to competition early. We are developing their social skills. WE want our kids to be well rounded. This will help her with her self-esteem. This gives her an outlet to express herself...This makes her a better public speaker...etc...etc.
It is all excuses.The way they act if the kids mess up. The way they behave when they are waiting for the crowning.And the looks on their faces if their kids don't win. And I am pretty sure saying things like "I want to see the score card, there is NO WAY that little girl beat my daughter" HMMM that doesn't sound like improving social skills!!! And I am pretty sure that giving them money for winning doesn't validate their points any at all.

All in all it is quite narcissistic to me! Sad. Borderline exploitation. Ridiculous.And truly out of control.
I wish people would stop trying to make kids grow up so fast.They WILL do that without our help!

Now, I do understand that there are probably some little girls who do LOVE this. And I think that is great.But I do think there has to be a balance. AND there is NO amount of convincing in this world, to make me agree with making 4 and 5 year olds look like this:



OR THIS:


OR THIS(YES...this BABY has on EYE LINER!!!!!):



How is this even LEGAL???? Sad!