Thursday, February 24, 2011

Sick TV







Some people really don't deserve their children. I'm not talking about the obvious, those who physically abuse or neglect their kids, I'm talking about the crazy bean stage mothers who take babies on the "pageant circuit."






Last night, while waiting for Top Chef, I flipped on TLC's "Toddler's & Tiaras." What a mistake. 24 hours later I can't stop thinking about it. Now perhaps, it is all scripted and done specifically to tick people like me off, then suck us in because we cannot avoid watching the traffic accident. But I tend to believe these whack job mamas actually exist.






So just how bananas were these ladies? I'll give you an example:



A 15 month old, whose mother told the cameras that after three boys, she finally had a daughter, which was her dream. Why? She always wanted to see her little girl become Ms. America. This toddler had a spray tan, wore make up and was given coca cola to keep her awake for the show. After a "poor performance" the mother screamed "She was horrible! Just horrible" while carrying her baby. This same mother is shown spending an absolute fortune on designer baby clothes including a bikini. She explained that she didn't know how much money she spent preparing for pageants, but it didn't matter, she would do what it would take to help her daughter become a beauty queen. (I have to wonder if she is setting aside any cash for a college education.)




Who the hell is this woman and why doesn't someone arrest her? My sister-in-law said it best, this is child abuse. Plain and simple. What kind of lesson does it teach a little girl? That they are valued first and foremost for their beauty. That they are to be judged on their looks and ability to act cute. These kids are too young to decide for themselves, so they are forced into a bizarre lifestyle centered around beauty competition. Sadly, while it may look like the girls are having "fun" I am certain that they are not learning healthy values. Not to mention that they are being robbed of their precious childhood and innocence. Just look at the child pictured above, I feel guilty even putting it on my blog, but it is already out there for the world to view. She is probably four or five, being made up to look like she is a (sexy)25. It's insane. Can't these kids just be kids?

Of course this is really only an exaggeration of what we see in our every day society. All you have to do is stand in the grocery store check out line and scan the covers of the magazines on display. "Horrible Celebrity Beach Bodies!" "How She Lost The Baby Weight In Just Four Weeks!" "Oprah Packs On The Pounds...Again" "Is Angelina Wasting Away?" "Top Ten Beauty Secrets To Wow Your Man" It's okay if you're too young to actually read the headlines, pictures tell a thousand words.




So now I am on my soap box approaching a subject far too complex for a tired mama a 10:30PM.




I'll shut up now, but please, do me a favor do not watch this horrible, horrible program. I think I might boycott TLC altogether.

12 comments:

  1. I wouldn't ever watch that crap. All things that smack of kiddie pageants are nuts…and, sadly, remind me of JonBenet. That picture just bums me right out. That little girl looks sad not 'sexy'.

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  2. Oooo I SO agree with you. I watched that show once, by mistake...it was an episode where they were putting FALSE TEETH on a 3 yearold...FALSE TEETH!!! I was haunted for days. I will never allow myself to watch another episode. Ever:)
    Happy Friday!

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  3. I would HATE to be that kid growing up. What happens if the kid scrapes her knee, would the mom commit suicide if it scarred.

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  4. Getting those girls ready to be good little consumers of make-up, clothing, jewelry. Marketing targeted at young girls is reprehensible. We hear so much about child sexual abuse and yet mothers dress their children and themselves like prostitutes. You can tell I have some feelings about this! Is this what the women's movement has led to? Women teetering on four inch heels, hobbled by their shoes. O.K., I'll shut up[!

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  5. Oh, I could get on a soap box on this too. Completely wacko. I cringe at the really little little ones--2-3-4. All made up and having no idea what it going on. It's like the moms wanted living dolls to play dress up with and are living some sick fantasy of their own childhood. Sad. Even sadder, these shows suck me in to see what's next! I try hard to flip the channel.

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  6. That just makes me want to vomit... yuck.

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  7. I saw a few minutes of that show once, and it disgusted me, too. Those women have lost their friggin minds. And those poor, misguided girls... I feel bad for them.

    Uh, that girl in the picture... did she get lip injections??? That's not cute, it's scary.

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  8. I know! I take pride in the fact that my little girl prefers to pretend to be Steve Irwin ( I haven't had the heart to tell her he's dead), than Barbie :)

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  9. No one has mentioned the fathers of these girls. Wonder what they think.

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  10. I stumbled upon this show too. The same way waiting for top chef. I only caught a few minutes of it but that is all it took for me to hate it. Does the mother of the child in this picture not realize that she looks like a stripper.
    My heart goes out to the kids.

    New follower
    http://momsinvent.blogspot.com/

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  11. I'm ashamed to say I know exactly which episode you speak of with the 15 month old because my daughter and I are addicted to that show like a train wreck! I can't even believe it. It can't be right? That a mother actually believes her 15 month old knows exactly what's going on??? My 15 month old would put her hands in her poopy diaper and smear it on her walls. You can't tell me she would have KNOWN she wanted to be Miss Fricken Universe!...ok, that's my soapbox, I am climbing off it now...

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  12. Hubby and I flipped it on one night, and I think I can actually say he was traumatized. Sick, sick, sick. They also gave them pixie sticks for a sugar rush - "pageant crack." How sick is that!!?

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