So the other day as I was packing to go back to school, I decided to turn the TV on for some background noise. The show that I was greeted with was Toddlers and Tiaras. I thought to myself “OK, this is fine.” I had seen the show before and found it mildly entertaining and went about packing.

But I was distracted from my task when I just happened to see a 15-month-old baby being walked and carried across the stage during a glitz pageant, which is a pageant where contestants go "all out" and glitter is practically required. After her walk across the stage, her mother was actually disappointed in the fact that her baby did not do her “routine” correctly and that she seemed a little fussy on stage. I could not help but be somewhat disgusted by this situation. I mean, here is this mother, who was dissatisfied that her barely one-year-old infant was not performing her routine like she was taught. In my opinion, I find this absolutely ridiculous. Babies should not have their hair curled and mascara put on their eyelashes, they should be getting to know the real world, not the pageant world at such an early age.

At one point in the show, one of the judges remarked that one of the girls, who was five years old, resembled a teenager. When the judge first said this, I reflexively thought that this would be followed by negative commentary. But instead, it was celebrated that this five-year-old girl was acting and looked like a teenager. She actually ended up winning the pageant. I was shocked to see how this five-year-old actually did look like she was just an incredibly tiny 16-year-old. It is saddening to me that these girls are possibly losing their childhoods due to the fact that they are so engrossed in pageantry.

Let me be clear, I am not completely against the idea of pageantry. If you decide, on your own, that you want to take part in pageants, then be my guest. But I do have an issue with the parents of babies who cannot voice their opinions forcing them to take part in pageants. I, along with many others, also have an issue with the amount of spray tanning, flippers (fake teeth that fit like a retainer to make the teeth look straight), fake hair, and makeup that is applied to these girls who should be at home doing normal toddler things, not looking like mini teenagers. It is somewhat ironic, that there are movements going across this nation that are promoting natural beauty to young people, but then these girls literally do not even look like themselves while walking across the stage. The situation would be totally different if these glitz pageants encouraged natural beauty, but this is definitely not the case. I find it sad that these people spend so much money on making their children, most likely their daughters, into little adults instead of letting them experience their adolescence.

Overall, I am not against the idea of pageantry if the contestant is the one who actually wants to be competing. The whole point of my argument is that I find it upsetting that very young children are being thrown into the pageant world by their parents and are being forced to grow up too fast. Let your toddlers be toddlers, people.