They’re not your little dress-up dolls

On a boring Saturday night, I decided to relax on my couch and flip through the television channels to find something that would make my day. As I was flipping, I came across TLC’s reality show, Toddlers and Tiaras. As I watched the show, I started to realize why it is so controversial among the general public.

For those who have not been aware of the craze that is Toddlers and Tiaras, this show follows young boys and girls, and their parents, as they get ready to compete in beauty pageants. The young children flaunt their false eyelashes, spray tans, and voluminous, fake hair while their personalities, beauty, talent, and costumes are judged. Each child is competing for titles, cash prizes, and of course, those big, sparkly crowns that barely fit these children’s heads.

Watching the show, viewers, including myself, see these children go through intense preparations to ensure their chances of winning the pageant. These preparations include beauty routines such as spray tanning, eyebrow waxing, manicures, pedicures, and personal coaching. Makeup, clothing, and hair go flying all over the place as each parent wants to see their child win the title of “Ultimate Grand Supreme.”

Instead of doing something they love to do, some of the top competitors are forced to go through the painful process of getting their eyebrows waxed. Many cry as their parents tell them to toughen up. But it is during these moments that I am astonished by the way a parents make their children go through something like this all for a crown.

When the child gets on the stage, the pressure is on. Each showcases his or her costume, beauty and personality for the judges and for his or her parents. During the talent portion, the parents seem to enjoy the pageant more than the child by doing the child’s dance routine in the audience. If a child messes up, the parent generally takes it harder than the child does. During the episode, I remember watching a parent criticize a child who messed up by yelling and telling the child to not talk to them.

I feel that it is unfair for a child to go through such an experience if he or she does not wish to do so. All children should do something they enjoy, not something that their parents force them to be a part of. When a child is doing something he or she enjoys, success will ultimately follow.