TLC's "Toddlers and Tiaras"

I've been watching a show called Toddlers and Tiaras on the TLC channel. No, I'm not watching the show for entertainment. It's more like watching something because you can't believe that this stuff really exists.

The age of these children, in my honest opinion, are too young. I strongly suspect the editors of the TLC show have to do some creative editing to make the show look like a positive event for these very young children. You know, I'd be willing to give them the argument that these pageants teach self confidence if it weren't for all the other fakery that is pushed on the children. I'm sorry, but with all the news reports of pedophiles enticing young children for immoral purposes, WHY are we allowing toddlers to look like very young adults? Tons of makeup, wigs, hair extensions, fake teeth, fake eyelashes ... I'm past offended. I'm disgusted.

These toddler pageants are not for the kids; they're for the parents. The parents claim they're encouraging their children to participate, but when they're only three, four, even six years of age, I suspect that it's more forced. A child is not going to want to disappoint mommy by saying no I don't want to do this, so they go through the motions to make mommy happy. Even if I give in to the argument that the child wants to participate in these toddler pageants, the message they're teaching the kids is still skewed. You're trying to teach a child self confidence, but yet you have this child put on fake teeth to cover missing teeth, hair extensions because the hair is not "full enough," and enough makeup to rival the late Tammy Faye Messner? Spare me! You're making your child look like a prosti-tot. Sorry if I offend any readers, but I am genuinely concerned about the mindset the child participants are going to grow up with.

I'm not knocking beauty pageants in general. I just think that they should wait until the child is 13 to enter any beauty pageants. Even then, there should be a ban on excessive makeup and such. Now, if you want to make it a costume contest or a fantasy character contest, THEN by all means do the makeup, fake hair, fake eyelashes, and all that other stuff. Just don't call it a beauty contest.