Child And Teen Beauty Pageants

Imagining if one day you saw your five year old daughter with a full face of makeup and high heels. Now she looks like a miniature adult. Not only is she a miniature adult, but now she also is very self conscious of herself and has an eating disorder at five years old. Child beauty pageants have some pros and a of lot cons to them. Also, they can affect a child’s development. One should consider that child beauty pageants can lead to a lot of mental health issues for kids at a very young age.

Zinzi Williams explains the downsides of pageantry in “Do Pageant Children Behave Differently than Other Kids?” The central claim is that there are many psychological differences between children who compete in the world of pageantry and children who don’t. Williams states the minor claims that children who compete in beauty pageants put beauty ahead of schoolwork and play time. Her other minor claim is that beauty contests affect the way the children who compete view their bodies and there overall appearance. She states that statistic that if there are 20 girls competing in the pageant, that each contestant only has a 5% chance of winning, which is very slim! Williams explains that in her research she found that on WebMD, a medical website,

Pageants with beautiful little girls that look as if they could be in their twenties can catch the eye of anyone. Dating back to the 1960’s when beauty pageants first started out, young girls have been participating in them, showing off their looks and talents to the world. Ever since the beginning, pageants have been very popular and the popularity is always growing. Most people watch the movies and tv shows about it and even attend these pageants and do not see anything wrong with what is going on. However, these pageants are harmful to the little girls and cause body image and self-esteem issues in the adult years of the competitors. As you watch the pageant as it is going on, you never think of what the outcome of these little girls will be like in 10, 20 or even 30 years. Makeup, hairspray and spray tans are extremely harmful to the skin and health of anyone let alone a small child. These girls grow up with body dissatisfaction when they are applauded on how gorgeous they look with their hair and a face full of makeup. Sooner rather than later they begin to feel as if they are not good enough without the aide of makeup, tan skin and beautifully done hair. Whether it is a current problem or something that is going to come about later on in life, child beauty pageants are harming the lives of little girls all around us. The focus on appearance, issues in adult years and being forced out of their childhood are the three most harmful

Beauty pageants have been around for some time and have even become apart of our American society, however parents don't realize or comprehend the risk they are taking with their children. Society has made the beauty pageant industry seem appealing, especially with shows like "Toddlers and Tiaras". Meanwhile, young girls are being forced to grow up in an environment where they are taught to look and act like adults. Instead of having normal encounters with costumes, high heels, and makeup, they are being forced by their mothers to wear tight sexualizing dresses, more makeup than most women, and even false teeth to present themselves as beautiful. These factors could lead these children to have depression,

If they don't win they may see themselves as ugly or not good enough. Imagine how losing a pageant can destroy a child's self esteem which may cause psychological problems. Studies have shown some children in pageants have been put on diets as young as age three which can lead to eating disorders. “Eighty percent of 10-year-old girls in the U.S. report they have been on a diet, according to a recent study "Eating Disorders Today — Not Just a Girl Thing." More children in pageants show signs of body dissatisfaction than children that are not in pageants.

Although they seem undisputed and lighthearted, child beauty pageants are one of the most contentious and criticized of all children's activities. While all other types of beauty contests are often viewed as distasteful, child beauty contests yield an even greater unfavorable response. Many individuals go as far as critiquing the pageants as being child abuse. Some say the beauty pageants sexualize the young girls and place unnecessary expectations of beauty at too early of an age. Contributors argue that the pageants help to build confidence and to teach the girls traits such as having poise and self control. Child beauty pageants are contests constructed to reward adolescence for their looks and charisma. There are many different components to every pageant. The children are often judged on how well they do during their interview, they're judge on their appearance, then on their talents. The events are set up by age groups, such as 0 to 6, so the criticism is fair. Each age division winner usually wins a crown or a trophy.

Any parent placing their child in these types of pageants, based solely on looks, is giving their child the attitude that appearance can get you anywhere in life. According to psyhcentral.com, the emphasis on physical appearance may put the young girls at risk for body image issues as they get older.

It’s not that they don’t know better but they are easily persuaded into opportunities. Being sexualized is one of the main problems of child beauty contest. A vast majority of children would never be involved in such contest if parents new how devastating it could really be (Helling). Let’s not forget the cognitive and emotional problems. It teaches them more of how they are on the outside than the character of themselves. By that meaning girls at a young age should never go through these types of problems instead they should be worrying about having tea parties or eating however much they want. Emotional disorders like eating problems, anorexia, and the depression caused by one little thing. The self confidence is caused by the contest. Leading up to the emotions of a child is not a good thing because of all he psychological mind

The portion of child pageants that people are not really fond of, is the aspect of young girls having the appearance of adults. The phrase “Growing up too fast” is used to characterized child pageants greatly. Young girls are trained to look and act a certain way in order to win someones approval. These girls are being taught that in order to be considered beautiful you must look, act, and dress a certain way. When did being chubby, having pale skin or missing teeth become an issue for children. Physical perfection should not be on the minds of young girls at such tender ages; instead they should focus more towards being indivduals not

A numerous amount of people agree that these events are extremely damaging to the well being of their contestants. Places such as Australia, Ireland, and especially France have been seeing many protests against having American child beauty pageants in their country (Miet). And in some capacity, it seems like they are actually working. In the September of 2013, The French Senate banned these child beauty pageants by prohibiting anyone under sixteen from participating in any such contest that judges them solely on their looks and beauty. Even approving of these events can get you fined $40,000 (Miet). Of course, some parents will always defend the pageant world, saying that it has a positive impact on their kids. They claim that the children have a lot of fun and they get to have time in the spotlight

One of the reasons why child beauty pageants should not be allowed is because it can cause low self-confidence.

Can you imagine little girls doing catwalk with heavy makeup on the stage? Can you imagine those girls wearing miniature ballgowns in high heels? However, these can be seen frequently in child beauty pageants, the beauty contests for participants who are 16 years old or younger. Although some people may believe that beauty pageants can help boost children’s self-esteem. However, I believe that the problems with child beauty pageants outweigh benefits for the following reasons: they put financial burden on families, mislead children’s values and do damage to their physical health.

Young girls should not be exposed to beauty pageants. Beauty pageants became part of the American society in the 1920's. Child beauty pageants began in the 1960's. Child beauty pageants consist of modeling sportswear, evening attire, dance and talent. The children are judged based on individuality in looks, capability, poise, perfection and confidence. (“Kareen Nussbaum”) Putting your child in a situation as to being

Joining a Child In A Beauty Pageant Needs To Be Restrained As Claimed By Psychology Students In Silliman University

To begin with, beauty contests can teach valuable life lessons at a young age. Parents enter their children in beauty contests because they can enhance a child’s self esteem, teach kids valuable skills, and they will understand the benefits and importance of hard work. The most cited reason parents give for putting their children into beauty pageants is to boost their child’s self-esteem, as well as teach poise, public speaking skills, tact, and confidence. Pageants help a young child become skilled public speaking and can build confidence; that skill can last them a lifetime. Not only that, but pageant competitors understand the value of hardwork and are always looking to strive better. Parents understand that there is only one winner of the pageants and they believe