A rant, a rave, it's a bit of an opinion piece.

*Disclaimer* This is my opinion only. If you disagree that is fine, I have no problem with that.



This past week I was sick, so in sick person fashion I watched the TLC show "Toddlers and Tiaras". Can I just say. Oh. My. Word. I mean seriously. I wanted to jump through the screen and shake those mothers. It made me so angry.
Why is that when grown men in sports take steroids, they make the papers and lose reputation, but when little girls are spray tanned, given false teeth, put on diets at 6, and taught to parade across a stage in "beauty" pageants we applaud them?
Then there is the money that is spent on them. In one pageant alone, the cost was $1225 (This included a $700 dress for a 5 year old (?!) a mani and pedi, hair, makeup, etc). The highest amount of money this little 5 year old could have won-$500. Oh and her mom decided to not allow her to get a spray tan because she didn't believe 5 year old should be sprayed tanned. Then once at the pageant she was told that in order for her daughter to even have a chance at winning she would have to be spray tanned. So she did.
The moms kept saying about how much of a good experience this was for their daughter, how it builds self esteem. Self worth. I would like to ask them in what way? How does this teach them to be kind, loving, selfless, gracious, thankful, and having an inner beauty?
At what point in History did we decide "Oh let's little girls dress up like little women and call it a sport"?
I realize that the Toddlers and Tiaras focus on the "Glitz" pageants and that there are natural pageants, but still,  it upsets me. Why make a little girl worried about what she looks like at 4 and 5? Let her be a girl. Let her be a child. Let her be natural. For some girls, that means tutus and ballet, for other girls that will mean jeans and sports, and for other girls that will mean a combination of all that. It doesn't mean enduring spray tans, hours of makeup, and hair pieces, oh and can't forget the false teeth!
In the world we live in today children are faced very early on with adult decision. Why rush it? Why not let kids be kids. Trusting, carefree, and not worried about whether or not the little girl next to you is going to win because she happens to be slightly tanner then you.