I was flipping through channels the other day on my television and
ended up putting on Toddlers in Tiaras for background noise while I did my
homework. I ended up not doing much of my homework but found myself watching
this show which is actually quite horrible. One mom was putting her daughter in
a raw meat bathing suit while another was trying to find her daughter. The
mother didn't comment once about worrying that her daughter was hurt or in
trouble only the fact that she was going to miss her call time. The daughter
later commented that she just wanted to play like a normal little kid but her
mom wouldn't let her because she might mess up her hair. What has the world
come to that mothers will give their screaming 3 year old a spray tan or pluck
her 6 year old's eye brows? It isn't right the moms are all saying that this is
what their child wants but a screaming child says something different. They are
just raising a whole new generation of prises.
I know exactly what you mean. Once I tried to sit through an episode of Toddlers & Tiaras but couldn't even make it through the whole thing, I was so disgusted by the parents trying to live out their childhood through their children. It's a shame that nowadays, the media encourages children to act older in order to fit society's standards and doesn't glorify kids just being kids. Even make-up sets and dolls being sold with skimpy clothing are being targeted at younger children, pressuring them into fitting into society rather than just be a kid.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean. Just look at the lingerie line aimed at small girls! Younger and younger girls are being pressured to be little grown ups and it's just so sad to see youth being taken away from them.
ReplyDeleteI think it is outrageous how some of these parents completely disregard the wants and needs of their children (like you said, the one mother was more concerned about call time than her child's safety)just because there is a potential to win this frankly degrading competition. They are also teaching their children that being tanned, wearing tons of make-up, having perfect hair and teeth, and wearing revealing clothes makes them beautiful. Maybe instead of committing so much time to preparing for these competitions and depriving their children of a normal childhood, parents could protect their child's innocence and teach them the value of character instead of appearance.
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