The popular TLC hit reality TV show Toddlers & Tiaras focuses its lens into the dark world of child beauty pageants. Critical reaction to TLC’s show has been mixed from the media, with some calling it ‘must-see TV’ while others brand it as ‘offensive’, ‘outrageous’ and even ‘exploitative’. I believe that not just Toddlers & Tiaras but any show that is like this should be banned from TV. Such programs are manipulative and damaging, to both the cast and viewers. I don’t believe this is right, and if you do; read on.
Firstly, shows like Toddlers & Tiaras encourage a very competitive nature in young kids. It is hard to try and change something about a child once they are a teenager, so telling kids that winning is everything in life will carry over to their
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However, this is not the case as most contestants are forced to do it by their guardians. They are doing it just to feed their parents unhealthy desire for celebrity status. Alana Shannon admitted on Season 5 Episode 18 of Toddlers & Tiaras that ‘beauty is boring’. Also, Brooke Breedwell never wanted to do it. She was a former pageant star who now encourages parents to stop. She said ‘But my mum would pull me away from my friends and transform me from a tomboy into a beauty queen because she insisted I needed to practise every day. I absolutely hated the make-up, the hairspray and fake teeth. But most of all I hated being forced to go on the tanning bed and I would cry every time. That was three times a week for 20 minutes at a time.’ A video captured her in 1995 after winning a pageant, and it shows her during the interview looking ’sullen’ and ‘disinterested’. Allowing shows like this to go on encourages this sort of behaviour from parents, which is not something that should be encouraged. Parents say that they are living through their child, but she has her own life. She’s herself. She isn’t