In Child Beauty Pageants - Good or Bad, it showcases the routines and lives that child contestants own up to. For a young child, this lifestyle can be overbearing and stressful. Instead of living as a child through adolescence, one is perfecting dance routines for hours on end. At this age, this route in life is typically chosen by the parent or legal guardian and may not be the child's desired route. Although these children are adorable to watch, these tiny children prance around with a heavy outer coating of makeup.


When taking a step back, I would answer the video as to being bad. These children can lead lives of depression and eating disorders. Children should not be allowed to enter these prestigious competitions at such a young age.


Questions:


Do the children enjoy this experience?
How much practice and preparation goes into these pageants?


Citation:
(2007, August 28). Youtube. (2007). [0]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k71rG0o02BM

According to Cons of Child Beauty Pageants, it is entertaining and enjoyable to watch children all dressed up in a show. Child pageants are lovely to watch, except when the child is forced into the pageant world and does not truly enjoy participating. Parents who push and pressure their children into these pageants can cause them to develop a bad attitude, low self-esteem, and unsportsmanlike conduct. Not only do many negative outcomes branch from these pageants, but these pageants take a toll on these children regarding how much time is put into these competitions. These pageants are a huge time commitment and truly take out time from education and simply enjoying childhood.

Questions:

Why do pageants cause these bad behavioral problems?
Why do parents get so absorbed in these pageants?

Citation:

Kids formal. (2011, October 02). Retrieved from http://www.kidsformal.com/kb_results.asp?ID=21

In the article "Playing at Pageants", Elizabeth Gleick states, By now, the surreal videotapes have become hauntingly familiar. Look at the face: the huge, inviting mascaraed eyes, the fluttering false lashes, the layers of professionally applied makeup, the highlighted, upswept hair. Look at the clothes: the hand-stitched gowns, the Princess Di chapeaus, the high heels. Then do a double take over the teensy stick-figure bodies and the immature voices belting out God Bless America and Tomorrow. Like some human optical illusion, JonBenet Ramsey and her besequinned fellow beauty-pageant contestants are not in fact fully developed adults. They are pint-size little women often done up like trick ponies. 


These women are plastered barbie dolls competing for one crown and will reach ridiculous heights to achieve their goal. Their goals and mindsets are not in line. These thoughts can lead to depression or eating disorders in the future. 


Reflection Questions: 


Why do some women alter their body in such harmful ways? 
Why is winning the crown become a more important task than good health?


Citation:


Gleick, E. (2001, June 24). Playing at pageants. TIME Magazine, Retrieved from http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,137165,00.html

According to Danielle Cardall, child beauty pageants are thought of as a dream to most children. The idea of being made up and dressed up is every childhood dream, right? The shocking answer to this is no. Children are forced to play roles of young adults from young ages and are simply transformed into mini women. Danielle states, "The lifestyle of child beauty pageant participants has proven to be one full of stress and negative self-evaluation which can ultimately lead to a number of mental and physical disorders as the children become older. While it is clear that beauty pageants can be damaging to its participants, especially ones who begin their career of pageantry at a young age, nothing is being done to solve this problem." 


This article written by Danielle Cardall helps showcase the stress and unhappiness put on young children. Children who are entered into these pageants are always entered by parents or a guardian. This shows that the decision for a particular child to be in these stressful contests were made by the parents and the children have little to no say in whether they would like to participate. Overall, these pageants not only cause unhappiness for children at young ages, but lead them to living lives of depression and mental illness. 


Reflection Questions: 
Why do parents enter their children into these pageants?
Why isn't anyone taking action to help solve the problem of young contestants being entered into these pageants?


Citation:
Cardall, D. (2008, July 30). The negative aspects of child beauty pageants. Retrieved from http://voices.yahoo.com/the-negative-aspects-child-beauty-pageants-1719427.html?cat=69