Parental Control: Toddlers and Tiaras Abuse Essay

The TV record Toddlers and Tiaras encour advances electric s handr abuse. According to the Merriam Webster vocabulary abuse is improper or excessive use or treatment. Toddlers and Tiaras is a show based on m separatewises use their tiddlerren and treating them like dolls kind of of humans. The exact tots on this show rush become famous for their s open firedalous step upfits and spells. We keep non damned the tykeren as m each a(prenominal) of them ar in any case young to unders tangentd the negatively charged responses. From a young age these kidskinren ar being exposed to an likewise sexualized media and then promoted to participate in it. These girls spend each spend and most of every day either preparing for or competing in competitions that they whitethorn non compulsion to be a part of. They gaint have a say in whether or not they want to repugn and often times their mother argon the geniuss pushing them into flourishs. The show give outs with a n introduction to the families that are chosen for this particular week.Each family is filmed in their allow home and they allow the viewer through their show routine. This sequel starts with a mother saying, I didnt ascertain to do this stuff when I was little so I weigh I am living my dreams through my missy. The lady friend then says, I like pageants be feat my mammary gland says so. The mother is taking away her daughters freedom of choosing an employment that she enjoys. For a show titled virtually the small fryren, the mothers get most of the attention. later home tours the families show off their pageant attire. One family even showed the line up fitting for their newest gown. Some of the most disturbing parts of Toddlers and Tiaras are the light-headed costumes, which include a mother queueing her daughter, Maddy, as Dolly Parton, completed with fake as punctuates, or two-year-old Mia complete with Madonnas cone bra, and lastly three-year-old Paisley as the prostitute Vivian Ward in Pretty Woman. Paisley wore knee-high ghastly leather boots and a revealing twitch and skirt and pranced a travel the floor as tidy sum simultaneously clapped and encountered on in horror.Spray tan and fake eyelashes are one thing but once you dress your kid as an iconic prostitute even Julia Roberts would be app bothed. These baby birdren 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 willing react to a certain costume. They are setting their children up to have a bad reputation. At three years old these guileless girls are being brought into the spot light by their selfish mothers. However, it is eight-year-old Britney who takes the legal profession when it comes to being everywhere-sexualized.She receives regular Botox injections from her mother before pageants. Are these parents unfeignedly worried about wrinkles on the face of a girl that doesnt even hav e acne yet? When did it become socially acceptable for toddlers to look and act like a twenty, thirty or even forty-year-old charr? Most every little girl wants to intuitive feeling like a princess, but I doubt any of them want to be a prostitute, nor do they know what a prostitute is. steady when the outfits are age appropriate, the children never have a say in choosing their attire.A demonstrator locked herself in the bathroom be draw 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 walkawaying 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 percentage point for their own enjoyment. These parents are in it to win 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 th ey often end up forcing their child to compete. on with showing their glamorous wardrobe the families bring the viewer along to the beauty salon for the next step in preparing for a pageant. In preparation for these flyblown 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, hairsbreadth extensions, manicures, waxing and pounds of makeup. One mummy went as far as forcing her screaming five year old into acquire her eyebrows waxed.This was not her first experience with waxing she had her skin ripped off during a previous session. This mother saw beauty as being much important than her own daughters comfort. Two pageant mommas admitted that they make their daughters follow stringent 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 d ont get as good of a score if your dress doesnt fit good, says the mother of 8-year-old contestant, Ever Rose. It is one thing to teach your child healthy eating but when the sole reason is to fit into a certain size dress it has gone too far. Children are ripening and as they age they will pauperization larger clothing. Another mom decided to dye her daughters eyelashes. Even subsequently her daughter begged her to stop 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 preceding(a) that equitable to make sure her child was beautiful. When appearance comes second to prophylactic thither is a real issue.Most stickn women dont dye their eyelashes so why would you dye a 9-year-olds? This same mom in addition bleached her childrens teeth. The defeat part is that the dyeing and bleaching of children is all done under the same roof 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 fifteen minutes on stage is just disgusting. They are being transformed into Barbies for their mothers to play with. These 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 caustic 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 present still in a chair for an hour to get their hair pulled and their faces pressed with makeup. The children are sent into hair and appease that can take up to three hours.For children as young as the age of one to be forced to sit still for such(prenominal) great lengths borders on child abuse as parents do not take into method of accounting the welfare of their children(Nussbaum). A significant part of their day is spent on preparation. aft(prenominal) each outfit they must change their hair stylus and touch up make-up which is another hour at least. After their competition routines are finished they change back into their formal gowns, which also includes a hair change and yet another round of make-up for crowning. These children are on stage for all of fifteen minutes the unscathed 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 tire out and uncomfortable is a natural instinct, so why would it be any different when they are in a pageant? The most stately 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 crosswise the room after she won princess. She cursed and said it was a hoax being princess was equivalent to losing. Rather than supporting her daughter and showing her how uplifted she was, she stole her daughters prize and gave her a lesson on how not to behave. I cant think of any worse penalty 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 bullshit and pageant crack is pure cacography. Additional calories from energy-drink consumption may growth blood insistence, blood glucose levels, BMI, calcium deficiency, dental problems, depression, and low self-esteem. Sugar and caffein may also synergistically increase postprandial hyperglycemia, which is of concern for children with diabetes (Gamble). These children that are already being eva luated on appearance are being given a substance that may cause depression and low self-esteem. Talk about adding fuel to the flame. Many moms use pixie sticks to boost their childs energy level during competition. Everyone gets tired but is filling your child with sugar really the best 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 course 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 or else of the childs needs. The child is told to do rise up for t heir 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 slice 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 talentss.Once again, the mothers are using their children so that they can stand out. Most parents feel that their child is a censure of themselves, but when they do everything in your power to create a check 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 pestle their children so that everyone will see their child as a echo of them. As crowning starts tensions are high. Mothers sit anxiously in the earshot 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 eligible for a higher title. If the child is not called, then the waiting game starts again. The parents descry at the stage waiting for their childs name to be called so that they can collect the trophy that they have worked so breathed 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 suffice that their child is happy rather than be upset that they didnt get the award that they wanted? 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 gold on coaching and better dresses.They keep trying to push a square peg in a round hole instead of reclaiming 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 forcible beauty and have a ludicrous sense of identity. The need for the child to win this particular competition is incredible. Why dont the parents just spend more 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 explore 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 body dissatisfaction, difficulty trusting interpersonal relationships, and greater impulsive behaviors, and indicate a trend toward increase feelings of ineffectiveness (Wnderlich,296). Thes e 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 beauty and winning. There is a sense that beauty is how you get what you want. There is so much 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 ever around competitive mothers and presume 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 set out self-esteem issues from the c onstant 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 life because they cant win a competition.Another problem is physically- based concept of beauty which has the possibility of crook girls to eating disorders to uphold that physical beauty. Depression may also trick out because of the need to feel beautiful and not being able to assemble that need. These pageants teach the competitors that there is only one mold of what is beautiful and that personal identity 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 the y are younger they may grow up to be passive and submissive. This passivity is not only for decision-making but they also look to their mothers to measure their value as the judges 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 enabling them and showing them that they dont need to work out their own problems.Using the definition of abuse from Merriam Webster mental lexicon 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 ground and take away the crucial developmental stage of making friends and overlap 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 childre ns 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 advert moments in childhood. Toddlers and Tiaras Captures the worst moments of the pageant world and highlights the most outrageous competitors and families.Nussbaum, Kareen. Children and dish antenna 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 horseshit 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