What do you think of parents who put their young children in beauty pageants?

Well as a former child pageant contestant and now a teen contestant, I am so glad that my mom LETS me compete. Most of these girls love being on stage. I love competition and it is another way for me to express myself and compete. I am also a competitive cheerleader, play volleyball and run track. I have never felt like I could not be a kid because of pageants. Last year I won a National title and 10,000.00. My entry fee was free because I was a state title holder and we spent about 300 on hotel and meals (in chicago) My dress was under 200 so I think we made a nice little profit there. I have entered 17 pageants in the last year and a half and have won 14 titles, scholarship money, modeling contracts etc. Plus I have learned poise and public speaking skills. I am a very happy, well adjusted 14 year old and I already have my first 2 yrs of college paid for...yeah you are right..its such a miserable, lonely life to be forced into...my parents must not love me at all and my mom must be trying to relive her whole life through me...NOT!

Normally its because when they were younger they either use to do pageants themselves and lost horribly, or they always wanted to do it but were not considered *good* enough. Of course its dramatic I think a lot of shows especailly VH1 and MTV like to show the most dramatic parts of it. I feel bad for most of the girls They just want to be normal girls, play outside, get dirty, and just be a normal child. Instead they are sucked into a life or fake tanning, fake teeth, and 1,000 dresses. I do think that the parents can get overdramatic when it comes to these pageants. If a child doesnt do so well, they are yelled at. Which I feel horrible for those kids. I think we need to stop making people think that beauty is what makes the person. Its not.....

If the child wants to do the pageants, like them. Parents who force their little girls to do the beauty pageants are in the wrong.

I think if the children want to do it its ok, but once the parents take over and are doing it more for themselves than for their children thats when they need to stop.....some of the parents get so crazy!

Well like somebody already said. if the girls want to do it and the moms are not pushing them than i do not see a problem with it. HOWEVER i think the little girls do wear way too much makeup and look too sexy at times for thier age

i think its cool, so the child know the important of beauty...

can join cheerleader and hangout with pretty people.i dont want my child to sit with the nerd....

but the most important is, beauty with brain....

They are freaky and weird and sad cause they weren't pretty enuf 2 b in them when they were little. Also those werid creepy ladies give me nightmares, and the only cool beauty

queen ever was little miss sunshine. :D

They had such lonely, sad childhoods, immersed in low self esteem that they have to put their kids through the things they never could achieve... living vicariously through them..

It's very sad...

As long as the little girl wants to participate its cool. I don't like those pushy ladies who make them.

I think that there out at least a grand no matter how young the kid is.