One of my very favorite films of last year was “Little Miss Sunshine”—the quirky, eccentric family really hit pretty close to home. But, thinking about the movie reminded me of a little girl that I used to baby sit for when I was a teenager, her mother entered her in all sorts of those “Little Miss”-type beauty pageants—and I actually went along to one or two to help out with babysitting for the two younger children. I thought it might be an interesting topic for us to chat about here—whether, as parents, we’d encourage our small children to be in beauty pageants, modeling, or acting?
Since I haven’t done it as a parent, I’m not really in the position to defend it, or even explain what it’s really like. I do know that when my children were rather young and we lived in the Midwest, my then second-grade daughter was talked into trying out for a young “cheerleading squad.” It was a true eye-opening experience for both of us and she only did it one year before she went back to playing soccer and softball. It certainly took up a lot of time and focus.
It’s always such a fine line and a true parental challenge trying to know where to encourage and support our children and where our own interests take over. I imagine any sort of competitive activities can bring this to the surface—whether it’s sports, selling Girl Scout cookies, or beauty pageants. I remember watching a “60 Minutes” report several years ago showing families of beauty pageant participants and some of the parents were really into it and some of the children were really into it. Still, I’d like to hear your take and your experiences—would you, have you put your young child in beauty or modeling or talent-type competitions? Was/Is it a good experience? What do you think?
See Also: Falling In Love With Your Real Child and The Sad Legacy of JonBenet Ramsey