Toddlers and Tiaras: A Form of Child Abuse
By: Safaa Alnabelseya
TLC, also known as The Learning Channel, has started viewing an American, controversial show called Toddlers and Tiaras in 2009. The show basically features a number of young girls between the ages of 2 and 7 getting spray tanned and dolled up by their ignorant and selfish mothers. I do not see in anyway how this might be a ‘learning’ experience for any viewer, as the name of the channel suggests. It is absolutely disturbing to see these young girls wear very little clothing, fake teeth, fake hair and fake eye lashes to please viewers. I do not understand how these mothers think it is okay to do this to their children thinking they are going to live a normal life when they grow older, when really, they have been humiliated on live television in front of about 1.8 million viewers tuning in every week. Not to mention that these overweight, rich house wives clearly have nothing better to do than use their children to feel better about themselves, and thus end up taking the competition way too seriously teaching their children that without a winning crown, they are not pretty and that beauty is everything. They carelessly turn their children into BRATS, who cannot stand losing and end up disobeying anything their mothers say. This has a cause and effect on the child’s life in the future, implanting the idea that beauty is everything and that society views them based on how pretty their teeth are or how perfectly their face is painted. It does not make it okay for a mother to use her daughter just to enter a beauty pageant because she herself was not able to do so in her childhood. It is completely selfish of any parents to use their children as toys just to show off in front of other mothers and satisfy themselves in such meaningless victories that can have very negative adverse effects on the children. Do they not think about their daughters lives? Do they tune out the tears and anger that rages out of their 4 year old daughters, while they force cosmetics and bikini wear on them? There must be someone working for TLC that has the sense to pull the plug on this show and realize that psychological abuse is still a form of child abuse.
Permanent Eyelashes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=SuChQN7o_DM
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I completely agree!! For example, there is the little Isabella who clearly HATES the whoooole thing!!! She is crying, keeps her head down, cries and fights to make her mother stop, while her mother just ignores and keeps forcing Isabella to endure all of the grueling regime to become this thing that has to win or else!!! Just now she said that if she doesn’t win, she will not be a very happy mommy!! So, now what? Isabella’s going to be in trouble?? She’s already been in trouble all day long because she hasn’t been conforming to her mother’s demands!! I mean, maybe the poor little thing is tired!! Maybe she’s a baby and needs to be treated like a baby!! And there’s nooooo love!! Given to that baby!!! The other thing I cannot understand beyond my wildest imagination, is that, LANGUAGE THOSE MOTHERS USE!!!! Good grief!! It’s disgusting!! Rock on?, I’m rockin it? I’m a super star? Also, the physical gestures!! Bending over and wiggling your tushy tushy? Being sexy with all that disgusting kiss blowing and the finger around their faces, the sexy eyes and hands on hips!!!! Why on earth would anyone want to see a baby acting and looking like an adultress??? It’s aaaall gross!! And yes, these girls are BRATS!!! To agree with what you said, that these mothers are creating bratty behavior and they do not care!!. The mothers themselves are soooo rough, hard and very trashy for the most part. There are exceptions. For instance, Alexis and her mother are very nice and poised and wholesome. Eden is really precious, but her mother is screaming like a biker, Alice Cooper!! DISGUSTING!!! iN THE END, it would be sooo refreshing to teach these precious little girls to act, walk and talk like the little darlings that they are, which be so simple because they were born being that already. The little tiny strawberry blond with little freckles or the skinny minny ballerina types are what is so precious and unique about children. It’s wonderful if they look like the American dolls, but to look like a diva or a grown woman is bizarre! I love the little toe head, blue eyed, shy type. It is so adorable, but then they are made to wear these big gold lame bows with black and white stripes making them look hard and trashy!!! It ruins everything for me. If the little girls dressed more of a Beatrice Potter(Winnie the Pooh) style or cherub like, would be precious. It’s the difference between having taste and not or Alicia Keys and Nikki Minaj!! A perfect example is Lindsay Lohan! She looks 45 and she’s only in her early 20’s!!! She looks like a tired, worn out, hard as nails prostitute. It’s very sad, because she was a precious little girl who grew up to be sooo pretty. You are absolutely correct on the future of these little girls. They will grow up to be hard and rough. They will develop depression, self image and self worth disorders and all around grow to be very unhappy individuals. It’s truly a crime, but consider the source. The mothers are mostly fat, trailer trash. Why don’t the mothers spend more time in the gym, taking English classes or attending manners school?? That would be time well spent.