Pageants

holley79 wrote: I am just curious about everyone's takes on Pageants.

Well I am not big on Pageants but then I get this email about a local Pageant. I think the thing which has me really floored is this:

FEES
Mandatory Registration Fee (all contestants) $50.00_____


(10 & UP)
EXTRA EVENTS
Beauty $30.00_____
Photogenic $25.00 _____
Extra Pics $10.00 or $25.00 (3 or more) _____
Best Personality $20.00______
Most Beautiful / Handsome $15.00_____
Miscellaneous Wear $35.00_____
Best Dressed $20.00______

I am still kind of on the fence post about whether or not I'm going to enter Annika. I have till the end of January to decide. Anyone with any insight would be greatly appreciated.

luvbug00 replied: I'm gonna be honest and say i do not favor them at all. Yes, i know that they are taking it down a notch by making "natural" beauty versions that ban extreme makeup. But I still think it emphisies beauty over mind. (Annika would squish the compititon easy in both beauty and mind anyway) my biggest problem is the movement of the padgent. the girls look like freaky robots and to be honest i'm a little scared of the fully dolled up ones. they look just creepy.

holley79 replied:
ITA about the Robot creepy ones. The rules for this comp is no make up on any child under the age of 10, which is nice. I still don't know what I am going to do. I am totally clueless when it comes to pageants.

gr33n3y3z replied: I'm being honest here

I put No I am totally against Pageants ONLY bc it starts off for the child then it turns in to a costly over obsessed parent rage war ( BUT not all Parents are like that).
Gymnastics and Dance its the same way parents take it to seriously and the kids suffer bc they have jerks for parents that act like 2 year olds fighting over who scores are better.

cameragirl21 replied: i will just say i am totally against pageants and i say this in the sense that i am from this business...a lot of parents come to me to take their kids' pics for pageants, among other things.
i would not judge you for entering Annika, nor would i judge anyone else who enters their children, depending on the circumstances...i have seen some that deserve judgement...i know some people here do enter their daughters and i want to stress that my statement about judgement absolutely does NOT refer to anyone here.
they are expensive and the fees you mentioned are not nearly as high as what i've seen.
ask yourself what you hope to get out of her being in a pageant...this is not meant to be sarcastic or judgemental, it's really a question of what you want out of this, your answer will better help you decide if it's a route you want to take.

luvbug00 replied:


HERE!HERE! i had to endure that crud as a kid and it ruined alot of my compitions. it got very vile and very nasty out there.

holley79 replied:
I know what you mean, Lisa. It also happens at soft/baseball games, soccer games and all that fun stuff. Parents can't let kids have fun with sports or anything of that nature. The parents become way more involved then they need to be.

Mommy2Isabella replied: woo ...

Im going against the crowd, I put the first one < local .. because the other answer was extreme.

I haven't put isabella in any yet, but I have people asking me to take her picture ALL THE TIME. Im not sure if I WOULD, but I am not against it. I agree with Lisa on the fact that it turns into a CRAZY parent rage ... I believe I would be able to control myself ... lol!!

ok no one throw stuff at me please ....

holley79 replied:
Well she is too young to really get anything out of it. I figured with it being local and charity it wouldn't cause harm. It may be a one and only time she is ever entered. The cost isn't nearly what I have seen on a more competitive level.

We will just have to see. I am interested in any advice and opinions from everyone here. I spoke with Jimmie recently on this and I remember stating I WOULD NEVER enter Annika in a Pageant and here I am "thinking" about it.

holley79 replied:
I have seen some of the most level headed parents at a horse show and just go off because their kid got dumped off their horse and was DQed. LOL

gr33n3y3z replied:
exactly sweetie I know you would never get like that but you are going to have to deal with that and so is Annika I just want you to know its not all that nice

Erin has been in the gymnastics scene and Dance for many years and going to States to level up and other States to compete in she has a tuff back bone and so do I we got through it all But I just dont you or Annika to hurt by what goes on there

cameragirl21 replied:
i just want to tell you that in competitive pageants all the girls are tanned, as in, by a spray tanner professional (can't think of what they are called, i'm drawing a blank) and they wear makeup, including the babies.
the classes, coaches, beauty bootcamps and the berating of the children by the parents that i've seen is enough to make me
bear in mind that the children that model for me do wear makeup (but never the babies) so it's not as if i'm a puritan shocked by all this.
entering her in a pageant once is not a big deal...the problem i have is that parents enter their kids and force them against their will to try to be something they aren't.
the point i'm trying to make (i am often misunderstood here so i may be trying to hard to make my point now) is that entering her in pageants isn't a problem, depending on what you want and what she wants.
when a parent calls me and tells him her daughter just won a pageant and that she'll pay any price for me to take pics of her daughter looking like a harlot because she is somehow convinced that this will make her the next Shirley Temple, i want to .

holley79 replied:
Well fortunately I don't have an obessesive compulsive bone in my body. This is mainly for charity reasons so I'm not real worried about getting over acitve in the pageant world. I plan on getting Annika involved in a lot of activites and if she shows a disllike then I'm not going to force her.

Parents like what you are explaining, to each is their own. I feel for the kids.

Kaitlin'smom replied: Kaitlin has done severl natural beauty pageants. Let me know if you have questions. She has 2 more this month.

I do understand how some parents get all wraped up in there kids and over spending and cost but the ones we do are totaly different, there is a mis-conception about the natual vs glitzy.

Again Kaitlin loves them, not only going on stage but meeting other kids.

btw do you have the pageant systems name?

C&K*s Mommie replied: I am all for local pageants. A co-worker put her daughter in one recently, and she liked it. But she noticed that all the kids that won the big catergories, all had big time sponsors plus their money next to the childs name in the pageant bulletin/program.

Kaitlin'smom replied:
this is true in GLITZY pageants, the natural ones we have done its not allowed, neithers hair pieces, flappers (fake teeth) or makeup. Some will allow hair pieces and makeup for older gilrs but they want it NATURAL looking, how they would go to school/church/ect.

Calimama replied: The all natural ones sound better than ones with kids with fake teeth, spray tan, and 20 bottle of hair spray.

punkeemunkee'smom replied:

Who's him???? Otherwise I think the generalization-ie harlot- is a bit over board...I am 110% against children being made to look like little adults BUT I have seen some smaller pagents that the kids are just kids and it is all in good fun. That being said Taylor has had her picture put in several studios (when she was a baby) as examples of what we can do...but I would not enter her at this age because I think that she is old enough to understand she won/ did not win on looks alone and that is not what I want her think.....

Even though I am sure she would smoke the competition

Kaitlin'smom replied: just as an example here are the rules for this weekends pageant

MAKE-UP: No Make-up on girls ages 10 and under.
Light make-up permitted on girls ages 11-16.

HAIR: No hair pieces, no weaves, no extensions, no fake hair –
only the child’s natural hair.
Hair can be styled any way you wish.

EYES: No fake eyelashes.

TEETH: no flippers (fake teeth), no wax to fill in gaps in teeth.
We want to see the contestant’s “natural” smile.


Everyone 10 and under will be swabbed for make-up before being allowed on stage

gr33n3y3z replied:
all the way

Kaitlin'smom replied:
yep I refuse to do a giltzy one, thats where you run in to the overbering pareants, expensive clothes, hair makeup fake this and that, NO way. Heck a couple of her dress that she has won in were bought at yes K-Mart for $15.

cameragirl21 replied:
that is supposed to say tells ME, i was thinking of a recent father who called me, whereas i usually hear from the mothers.
as for harlot being overboard, suffice it to say you just haven't seen what i've seen. harlot was putting it nicely.

holley79 replied:
These are the same rules for ours. This is about all I can handle. I could not see Annika sitting down letting me put make up on her as it is. Heck she won't even let me paint her nails.

holley79 replied:
Taylor would defiantly smoke the comp but that's neither here nor there.

I have entered Annika in photogenic comps and she has placed 1st in three and 2nd in one. Just like you said, she's not old enough to understand that she was being judged based on looks and this is why she took second. When she is older and wants to do them on her own then we will cross that bridge. It's scares me to no end.

Kaitlin'smom replied: well if you decide to do it good luck and let me know if you have any questions

My3LilMonkeys replied: I voted other because if they ever ask to be in a pageant, we would probably allow them to (providing it was not too expensive or extreme). However I would never choose to put them in one - I'm not really competitive in that way, plus neither of them really have the personality for it.

Jamison'smama replied: I put no and again, like others have said, I am in no way judging the choices of anyone--we all want what is best for our families. My personal feelings are that I want my child's outward appearance to be the last thing she feels she needs to be judged by. There will be enough judging in her lifetime that I don't want to pay someone to tell her that she is not worthy of the crown. It is bad enough that our girls have a lifetime of looking through magazines and malls feeling they can never measure up.

But I do think they girls are adorable dressed up and Annika would look precious on the stage

MommyToAshley replied:
Thanks Brenda, you said exactly what I wanted to say about how I feel about pageants.
And, again, I don't judge others for what they do. We all have different parenting styles and there's nothing wrong with that. I think Annika would be adorable in the pageant dresses. If you do it, be sure to take lots of pics!

holley79 replied:
I think she would be adorable also. I totally agree about the girls having to face enough judging as they get older. We all know we have BTDT in our lifetime plenty.

Dee you know I WILL TAKE TONS of pictures. LOL

Thanks for the input everyone. I really appreciate it.

Mommy2BAK replied: Well said Brenda!

Torbian02 replied: I too am not a big favorite of them because I feel they push a sterotype for girls. Could a boy enter one?
I like the idea of giving a child the oppertunity to to choose things in life regardless of their sex. I would love to teach both my girls and boys how to use power tools, and if my boy is more interested in entering in a pageant...then so be. And if my girl was amazed and wanted to help dad all the time to fix the kitchen sink...so be. But I feel by entering a young lady into a beauty pageant, you force the issue on them that they have to act and look a certain way, and can't just be what and who they want to be. sorry, I had a hard time explaining that without stepping on anyone's toes.

Crystalina replied: Izabella won 1st place in a pageant and was 'Little Baby Miss' in our state. I'm not sure if that was a big thing or not. She was supposed to go to another pageant in Cleveland after that but we did not go and she has never been in another one. No particular reason.

My little sister (the one with 7 kids) was Ms. Jr. Teen Ohio. That was the only pageant she was ever in.

Crystalina replied:
I went back and read the thread and with those rules what's the harm? That is how Izabellas pageant was. My sisters was to the extreme (vaseline on the teeth and hair spray on your eyebrows kind of extreme). I don't think there is any harm in entering her. Just be aware that the pageants get more expensive the further up she moves.

Kaitlin'smom replied:
yes many of them also have boys in them, they dont get many contestans but most natural pageant systems do offer boy catagories up to a certain age.

To me its not about being judged on her beauty (thats not all they do just and FYI) but its about her building self esteem, poise, presentation, setting goals, sportsman ship and having fun.

In fact I just asked her if she wanted to do them and she said YES I love doing them, they are fun. DH asked if she did them because she wanted to or because I wanted to (which I wont do them unless she wants to) her answer 'because I want to, its fun and I get to met other kids'

The pageants we do dont emphasis on beauty, really there is so much more sometimes kids who you think will win dont and those you think wont will. its really a matter of opinion by different people. I look for one who want the girls to have fun and yes she always gets something as does everyone who enters so they all feel special.

punkeemunkee'smom replied: It is so funny that this came up today...I was just doing dinner dishes and Taylor walked in and said Mom I always wanted to be a beauty queen... Turns out she is watching America's Next top Model in the livingroom (Wilbur ended) and it has 'always been her dream to be a Top Model...for 5 years now'

Kaitlin'smom replied: well Kaitlin says she wants to be a princess...a REAL one she says not sure how that will work out for her.

stella6979 replied: I chose that I am against them, only because I don't like the idea of little girls thinking that "beauty" is such an important thing. Regardless of whether they're wearing make up or not, I would just rather my daughter focus on her interior than her exterior.
That being said though, I would never judge any one who does put their kids in pageants (except maybe people like Patsy Ramsey). I do believe it helps with their confidence and public speaking, but it's just not for me.

punkeemunkee'smom replied: Holley I realized that I did not actually answer your question...I guess I was not concerned about you putting Annika in a freaky wax doll comp. like some of them are! I think something like what you and Di are talking about sounds fun...Not much different than a dance recital or something where the girl gets to feel like the center of attention and gets to dress up If you decide to do this one I can't wait to see pics!!!

holley79 replied:

Boys are on the list also.

BAC'sMom replied: Holley you know how I feel; did we NOT just talk about this I don't see anything wrong with the type of pageants that YOU and DI are talking about.

holley79 replied:
I know that was what was IRONIC when I got this email about a local pageant. I about spit on myself.

ETA: And what did I say Jimmie? I would NEVER enter Annika. Ok so I can never say never again, right.

Kaitlin'smom replied: that was me it was around easter this year that I got 2 dress for her at K-Mart, thats what they wanted was easter/sunday best type dresses. she took overall (queen if you want to call it that) in one and placed 3rd out of 8 in the other one.

Holly if you have any questions feel free to ask.

sadly I thnk pageants have a bad rap, some yes deserve it but there are so many that are not what people think. I was leary at first and I am still learing but its been fun, she has one this weekend and we are both excited for the tropical wear outfit, I think I spent maybe $20 on everything including accessories.

holley79 replied:
Thanks Di. I really appreciate it.

I was so against them also after watching Pageant Moms on HBO one time. I was like there is no way in Hadies I would allow my daughter to do that or force her to. Well when this email came out with the rules for the "natural" pageant I thought it was something worth looking into.

You are going to get bombarded with PMs from me before this is all over with.

Kaitlin'smom replied:
yep its shows like that that give them all a bad name no problem I am happy to help

lisar replied: I choose other and this is why:

I would let her do it 1. only if she wanted to and 2. no makeup and all that crap.

my2monkeyboys replied: I would probably never do it, unless my daughter specifically asked for me to, simply bc I'm just not into them. If I ever did though I'd make sure it was kept fun and light; no serious competing stuff.

jcc64 replied: Brenda summed up my feelings better than I could have. I just want to add that I often hear parents praising pageants as an opportunity to gain poise, self esteem, confidence, and sportsmanship. I believe these types of attributes are best attained in other pursuits such as sports, dance, music, etc, where the child's accomplishments, based on hard work and discipline, are rewarded rather than his/her outward appearance. I realize there are talent portions to these contests, but if we're really being honest with ourselves, a pageant is first and foremost about perceived outward beauty.