Toddlers, tiaras, loving moms

I can’t look away. It’s a train wreck, but I can’t stop watching. Toddlers. Tiaras. Moms who glue fake eyelashes on their 3-year-olds.

What world is this?

I’m a little ashamed to say I watched way too much – Toddlers & Tiaras – on TLC last night. Ashamed and stupefied.

I’m fascinated by the strange and somewhat sickening phenomenon of toddler beauty queens because I just don’t understand these moms. How can they be OK encouraging their baby girls to shake their booties and perform other provocative dance moves? Or like on last night’s show, what kind of mother puts fake breasts on her 3-year-old to make her look like Dolly Parton?

One mother said her daughter loves the pageants and that as a mother, she will support her daughter’s passions. OK, I can understand that. But I honestly don’t know if I could support that particular dream. I would probably try to guide my daughter to another passion that doesn’t involve quite so much booty shaking or fake teeth inserts.

I’m sure producers of these toddler pageant shows do pick the absolute worst footage to shock viewers and make these tots and their moms look vain, crazy and spoiled. But even if it’s exaggerated, I would do anything I could to avoid having a daughter that calls other girls ugly, hits her mom or feels comfortable in a size 3T Dallas Cowboys halter top.

What do you think of baby beauty pageants? Can they teach kids good qualities along with the drama?

More importantly, should moms support their child’s interests even if they don’t agree with them?

Erin Stewart is a regular blogger for Deseret News. From stretch marks to the latest news for moms, Stewart discusses it all while her 4-year-old daughter crams Mr. Potato Head pieces in her little sister’s nose.