Parental Control: Toddlers and Tiaras Abuse Essay

The TV show Toddlers and Tiaras encourages squirt ab lend oneself. According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary abuse is improper or excessive use or treatment. Toddlers and Tiaras is a show based on puzzles using their boorren and treating them like dolls instead of clements. The tiny tots on this show have become famous for their s finishdalous verbotenfits and routines. We can non blame the tykeren as many of them atomic number 18 too young to understand the negative responses. From a young age these pip-squeakren atomic number 18 be exposed to an overly sexualized media and then further to participate in it. These girls spend each weekend and more or less of either day either preparing for or competing in competitions that they whitethorn non want to be a part of. They dresst have a say in whether or not they want to compete and often times their mother are the ones pushing them into shows. The show starts with an introduction to the families that are chosen for th is particular week.Each family is filmed in their own home and they take the viewer by dint of their flourish routine. This episode starts with a mother saying, I didnt get to do this stuff when I was little so I think I am living my dreams through my daughter. The daughter then says, I like pageants because my mamma says so. The mother is taking a path her daughters freedom of choosing an bodily process that she enjoys. For a show titled about the children, the mothers get most of the attention. After home tours the families show pip their pageant attire. One family however showed the dress alteration for their newest gown. Some of the most disturbing parts of Toddlers and Tiaras are the promiscuous costumes, which include a mother dressing her daughter, Maddy, as Dolly Parton, complete with fake assets, or two-year-old Mia complete with Madonnas cone bra, and fin tout ensembley tercet-year-old Paisley as the prostitute Vivian Ward in Pretty Woman. Paisley wore knee-high bla ck leather boots and a uncover pennant and skirt and pranced around the stage as people simultaneously clapped and looked on in horror.Spray tan and fake eyelashes are one liaison but once you dress your kid as an iconic prostitute even Julia Roberts would be appalled. These children dont know who most of the people that they are portraying are. Their mothers on the other hand know exactly who they are and how people will react to a certain costume. They are setting their children up to have a bad reputation. At three years old these innocent girls are being brought into the spot light by their selfish mothers. However, it is eight-year-old Britney who takes the cake when it comes to being over-sexualized.She receives regular Botox injections from her mother before pageants. Are these parents really worried about wrinkles on the face of a girl that doesnt even have acne yet? When did it become socially acceptable for toddlers to look and act like a twenty, thirty or even forty-y ear-old woman? Most every little girl wants to feel like a princess, but I doubt any of them want to be a prostitute, nor do they know what a prostitute is. Even when the outfits are age appropriate, the children never have a say in choosing their attire.A contestant locked herself in the bathroom because she refused to wear a certain dress. These parents spend hundreds of dollars on these dresses the children should at least enjoy wearing them. Children should be playing with dolls not being one. These children have no say in what they are doing. They are being led by parents that force them into costumes and parade them on stage for their own enjoyment. These parents are in it to march on it, whether or not their child wants to compete is another story. They are so focused on using their children to accomplish their own goals that they often end up forcing their child to compete. along with showing their glamorous wardrobe the families bring the viewer along to the salon for the next step in preparing for a pageant. In preparation for these sleazy outfits, the children are put through a grooming ritual many adults have never braved. This includes spray tanning, buying fake teeth, known as flippers in the pageant world, hair extensions, manicures, waxing and pounds of studyup. One mom went as far as forcing her screaming five year old into getting her eyebrows waxed.This was not her first get wind with waxing she had her skin ripped off during a previous session. This mother saw beauty as being more important than her own daughters comfort. Two pageant moms admitted that they make their daughters follow strict diets of 1600 calories per day. Forcing children into diets when they are already at a healthy weight can cause those children to turn to eating disorders later in life. You dont get as near of a score if your dress doesnt fit good, says the mother of 8-year-old contestant, Ever Rose. It is one thing to take your child healthy eating but when the s ole reason is to fit into a certain size dress it has gone too far. Children are growing and as they age they will indispensableness larger clothing. Another mom decided to dye her daughters eyelashes. Even after her daughter begged her to confront because her eyes were burning the mother insisted on continuing the process. She gave her daughter a chemical burn that could have blinded her but she looked past that just to make sure her child was bonny. When appearance comes second to safety there is a real issue.Most grown women dont dye their eyelashes so why would you dye a 9-year-olds? This same mom also bleached her childrens teeth. The worst part is that the dyeing and bleaching of children is all done under the same cap as the book 7 Worst things a Parent Can Do. Clearly that book has never been opened. The pain that these children are put through for xv legal proceeding on stage is just disgusting. They are being transformed into Barbies for their mothers to play with. T hese mothers practically ruin their kids childhood, and for what, approval of their childs beauty from three random people? The families are seen at the start of their pageant day with tired childrens hair in acrid rollers and many tears on their faces. Parents like to call their childrens tantrums Diva Moments. These children are tired and are in no mood to sit steady in a chair for an hour to get their hair pulled and their faces pressed with makeup. The children are sent into hair and make-up that can take up to three hours.For children as young as the age of one to be forced to sit still for such great lengths borders on child abuse as parents do not take into account the welfare of their children(Nussbaum). A significant part of their day is spent on preparation. After each outfit they must change their hair style and touch up make-up which is another hour at least. After their competition routines are finished they change plump for into their formal gowns, which also inclu des a hair change and yet another round of make-up for crowning. These children are on stage for all of fifteen minutes the whole day but endure hours of hair pulling and make-up application. During pageants, these kids are still just kids and their parent should realize this. In return to their childrens tantrums these parents scold their kids. A child who is crying because she is tired gets yelled at for being uncooperative.A child acting out because they are exhausted and self-conscious is a natural instinct, so why would it be any different when they are in a pageant? The most appalling part is that the tantrums dont just stem from tired tots. The mothers can be added into the mix. One mother threw her daughters crown across the room after she win princess. She cursed and said it was a joke being princess was equivalent to losing. Rather than supporting her daughter and showing her how proud she was, she stole her daughters booty and gave her a lesson on how not to behave. I cant think of any worse punishment then telling your child they werent good enough after they just completed something they didnt even want to do. To avoid these meltdowns during the pageant, the mothers have resorted to giving their children go go juice and pageant crack.Go go juice is anything from soda to energy drinks such as Red Bull and pageant crack is pure sugar. Additional calories from energy-drink consumption may join on blood pressure, blood glucose levels, BMI, calcium deficiency, dental problems, depression, and low self-esteem. Sugar and caffeine may also synergistically increase postprandial hyperglycemia, which is of concern for children with diabetes (Gamble). These children that are already being judged on appearance are being given a substance that may cause depression and low self-esteem. Talk about adding fuel to the flame. legion(predicate) moms use pixie sticks to boost their childs energy level during competition. Everyone gets tired but is filling your ch ild with sugar really the outperform way to get them to perform? They have their worst moments televised for the world to see.What mother would allow such embarrassment for their child? Even if the child was just having an off day, all the viewers see the child as a spoiled brat. Their reputation is tarnished by their parents, and they are too young to even realize it. Over the dividing line of the pageant, many phrases such as, dont you dare embarrass me, can be heard. As contestants and parents wait in the wings the children are reminded of how they should perform. When a child starts to cause a scene backstage the parents become more concerned with their own embarrassment instead of the childs needs. The child is told to do easily for their mamma, and then they are pushed onstage to compete. They are not only vying for the judges approval but also for their parents. Once onstage, the children do their routines while their families stands in front of the stage showing them what their next move is. The routine is more about how well they can copy their mother instead of showing off their own talents.Once again, the mothers are using their children so that they can stand out. Most parents feel that their child is a reflection of themselves, but when they do everything in your former to constrain a reflection it has gone too far. They have crossed the line of shaping your child into a respectful and kind human being and turned them into clones. These mothers mold their children so that everyone will see their child as a replica of them. As crowning starts tensions are high. Mothers sit uneasily in the audience while their children wait stone faced. Once onstage, the confusion begins. For the first round the goal is not to get called, meaning you are worthy for a higher title. If the child is not called, then the waiting game starts again. The parents stare at the stage waiting for their childs name to be called so that they can collect the trophy that the y have worked so hard for.The children seem delighted with their prize, but the parents are almost disappointed that they didnt win the top title. Why cant these parents be content that their child is happy rather than be upset that they didnt get the award that they valued? These mothers are using their children so that they can feel like they accomplished something. They do pageants for themselves and are unable of focusing on their childs enjoyment. When the child loses the parents vow to spend more money on coaching and better dresses.They keep trying to push a square peg in a round hole instead of run intoing an activity their child can excel at. They refuse to let their child be who they want to be, which is damaging to the child and may cause issues as the child ages. They have no appreciation for anything other than physical beauty and have a false sense of identity. The need for the child to win this particular competition is incredible. Why dont the parents just spend mo re time with their child? Let the child find out what they enjoy instead of sculpting them into something they will never be. This would be more affective than simply finding a new activity, because it would allow the child to look and feel in control of their life.After the pageant is over what happens? Many children will face psychological problems which may grow into disorders as they age. In a study done by Anna Wonderlich, it was discovered that there was, a significant association between childhood beauty pageant participation and increased clay dissatisfaction, difficulty trusting interpersonal relationships, and greater impulsive behaviors, and indicate a trend toward increase feelings of ineffectiveness (Wnderlich,296). These children grow up in an atmosphere where superficial is the new normal. They add so many fake items to make themselves acceptable for a pageant that it may lead to fake items being used to create a false identity. They make a connection between beaut y and winning. There is a sense that beauty is how you get what you want. There is so oftentimes pressure put on these children to perform that they equate performance to how they should act all of the time.The line between role playing and identity becomes blurred and the pageant reputation wins out when choosing how to behave. They are constantly around competitive mothers and adopt a judgmental attitude towards the other competitors and towards people in general. Since they compete for most beautiful they may judge other people on their beauty. The winners of these competitions often feel superior in comparison to other people and this feeling of power over others can lead to bullying. These young girls contract self-esteem issues from the constant battle of trying to be the best. They are constantly reminded that they need to be the best and that they need to be better than the other girls to win. They may also feel inferior from not winning and think they cannot succeed in lif e because they cant win a competition.Another problem is physically- based concept of beauty which has the possibility of turning girls to eating disorders to uphold that physical beauty. Depression may also arise because of the need to feel beautiful and not being able to fulfill that need. These pageants teach the competitors that there is only one mold of what is beautiful and that individuality is frowned upon. A unique sense of style or an odd talent is wrong. The girls are expected to conform to what is mainstream so that they can win.On top of the many mental games this competition puts children through they also form a dependency on others to make decisions for them. Since their mothers usually make all of the choices when they are young they may grow up to be passive and submissive. This passiveness is not only for decision-making but they also look to their mothers to measure their worth as the decide do during pageants. These mothers are raising their children to have a hard time fitting into society. By not allowing these children to figure out how to do things for themselves they are enable them and showing them that they dont need to work out their own problems.Using the definition of abuse from Merriam Webster dictionary improper or excessive use or treatment, it is clear Toddlers and Tiaras does encourage abuse. The parents on this show use their children to satisfy their own childhood dreams. They are pushing their children into a competition they are not capable of understanding and take away the crucial developmental stage of making friends and sharing toys. The children are so busy trying to beat out the other girls in their division that there is no way to develop a friendship. The childrens meltdowns are aired to the public and the parents are instilling a false sense of identity in their children. These children are being set up to fail because they missed out on most, if not all, of the key moments in childhood. Toddlers and Tiaras Ca ptures the worst moments of the pageant world and highlights the most outrageous competitors and families.Nussbaum, Kareen. Children and Beauty Pageants. Children and Beauty Pageants. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2012. . Wonderlich, Anna. Childhood Beauty Pageant Contestants Associations with Adult Disordered take and Mental Health. Eating Disorders 13.3 (2005) 291-301. Gamble, Kate. Red Bull Gives Kids More than Wings. Red Bull Gives Kids More than Wings. HCP Live, 16 Feb. 2011. Web. 01 Dec. 2012. . TLC Toddlers and Tiaras