Taken from The Washington Times Communities on January 8th, 2011:
Amid re-runs of the O’Reilly Factor and Glenn Beck this past holiday break, I found myself bored and in need of some entertainment.
As a self-avowed political junkie, I am often reluctant to pull myself away from Fox News and the conservative blogosphere. I will admit, it is tempting to watch the trash they show on television nowadays. I contemplated how much damage could be incurred from watching it, and thought, why not this once?
As a result, I went on a quest for the ultimate moronic show, and struck gold with Toddler & Tiaras.
In my opinion, shows like Toddlers & Tiaras, Jersey Shore, and Modern Family are idiotic in nature and deleterious to normal brain function. Why should Americans care about spoiled brats, jerks in New Jersey, and fictional families?
Instead, saving the economy, ensuring our nation’s future, and defeating Obama’s policies should be priorities. Nevertheless, I set aside my differences about American T.V. to watch The Learning Channel (TLC)’s Toddlers & Tiaras.
I braced myself for the worst and got the following: beauty queens, brats, and binkies.
December 29th, 2010, marked the return of Toddlers &Tiaras for its fifth season. Viewers can expect more child sexualization, sparkles, and bad attitudes with this new season. To those of you unfamiliar with the program, toddlers—even infants—are subjected to torture best known as beauty pageants. Parents reportedly shell out hundreds of thousands of dollars to turn their kids into sex playthings. If that isn’t bad enough, parents actively feed this demoralizing activity by encouraging their daughters to be “divas.”
For example, 4-year-old Makenzie is the ultimate “diva” according to her mom, Juana. Known for her “spunk” and “fiery attitude,” this little girl conquers the pageant world with her tantrums and her pacifier, “NiNi.” If the binky goes astray, expect all hell to unfurl.
Parents encourage their daughters to play “dress up,” and wear scantily-clad outfits in order to win over judges with their “cuteness.” Frankly, parents exploiting their kids for money and attention should be stripped of their parental rights. Many professionals see this behavior as unnatural and dangerous, as it beckons unwanted attention from perverts and child predators.
One professional take is outlined here: “As a treatment professional of sex offenders as well as victims of sexual abuse, I would like the parents of these little girls to assume responsibility for their choices. They are sexualizing their young children. Do not be surprised if your child is preyed upon as a result of this high degree of visibility,” said Dr. Nancy Irwin, a Los Angeles-based psychotherapist.
Experts note that child beauty pageants breed contempt for natural beauty. At a young age, children cannot make well-reasoned decisions about competing in pageants. Parents continually encourage these false notions of beauty by splashing pounds of make-up on pubescent girls. Finally, it culminates with parents pressurizing their children to be “perfect.”
Another expert notes the following: “Toddler beauty pageants set a superficial expectation about what makes someone beautiful – that beauty is primarily about your pose, your smile, your hair, and the clothes you wear. Self-worth should not be tied to competitions,” Bishop told us. “Toddlers are not old enough to make an informed decision as to whether they should compete. Nor are they able to separate the competition from reality, which can make participation even more damaging to their self-esteem.”
This negligent parenting has gone too far. What happened to quality family time? Where did family dinners, trips to the outdoors, and other avenues of traditional family bonding go? Instead of exploiting children to make a quick buck, why not put parenting to good use, behave kids, and teach them practical things?
Instead of monitoring our eating habits and shoving more government down our throats, Mrs. Obama should put her advice to good use and condemn this show.
To the parents that fuel this trend: might I suggest you suck on a pacifier? If you are unfit to be parents and unfit to act responsibly, you are unfit to be serious adults in American society.