Beauty Pageants: Should You Enter Your Child In One?

Are you the parent of a toddler or an elementary school aged child?  If you are, have you ever thought about entering your child in a beauty pageant?  If you are like many other parents, there is a good chance that the thought has at least crossed your mind before, but it is a good idea?

When it comes to deciding whether or not you should enter your child in a beauty pageant there are a number of important factors that you should take into consideration.  One of those factors is your location.  Where do you live?  If you do not live near a big city or a popular one, like Hollywood or New York City, there is a good chance that you would have a hard time finding pageants to enter your child into.  Yes, you may be able to find a number of local beauty pageants, but if you are really serious about getting your child into modeling, you may find yourself having to travel long distances and spending quite a bit of money on that traveling.

In addition to costs associated with travel, it is important that you examine the other costs associated with regularly entering your child into beauty pageants. With beauty pageants, your child is often required to wear different items of clothing, as well as perform in a talent show. Many parents spend thousand of dollars or more each year buying clothing for their children to wear or on courses for learning a new talent, like dancing or singing.  Do you have that much money to spend?  If you don’t, you can still proceed with entering your child into beauty pageants, but you may find it difficult to compete with other families who do have more money to spend.

The work that goes into regularly participating in beauty pageants is something else that should be examined.  You should look at the work and the sacrifices that are often made from two different angles.  As a parent of a beauty pageant child, you may find yourself traveling a lot, spending a lot of time away from your home and other family members.  You may also experience financial hardships, as that is something that many families report. As for your child, toddlers and elementary school age children often love spending time with their friends and just being a kid.  If you take beauty pageants seriously, they may not have time to do everything that they know and love.  Of course though, your child may prefer participating in beauty pageants.

Speaking of your child, it is important that you include them in on the decision to participate in beauty pageants.  Unfortunately, too many parents make the mistake of believing that their kids are too young to make the decision on their own.  Yes, a toddler may be, but it is still advised that you discuss entering beauty pageant with them. What you may want to think about doing is entering them into one or two beauty pageants and then wait to see how it goes.  You never know, but your child may deicide that he or she does like participating in them after all.

The above mentioned factors are just a few of the many that you may want to take into consideration before automatically deciding that your child should regularly enter beauty pageants.  As a reminder, it is a decision that shouldn’t be made by just one parent, but the whole family.

Beauty Pageants: Should You Let Your Teen Enter Them?

Image via WikipediaAre you the parent of a teenager, namely a female teen?  If you are, has your teen ever mentioned entering into a beauty pageant before?  If she recently has, have you given her a decision yet? For many parents, their first though is “no way,” but you should know that beauty pageants are all not as bad as they seem.

When it comes to determining whether or not you should let your teen enter a beauty pageant or even a number of them, you should know that there are a number of pros and cons to doing so.  One of those pros or plus sides is the fact that it is something that your teenager wants to do.  If your teenager was the one who brought up a beauty pageant then there is a good chance that it is something that interests them.

Another one of the many pros or plus sides to allowing your teen enter a beauty pageant or even a number of them is because of the rewards.  What is nice about beauty pageants is that you don’t just get a trophy or a ribbon, but you also get a cash prize reward.  Instead of cash, some beauty pageants even give out scholarships.  If your child is interested in making their own money or if they are interested in going to college, a beauty pageant may actually be able to help them achieve their goals.

While there are a number of pros to letting your teen enter into beauty pageants, there are also a number of cons or downsides to doing so as well.  One of those downsides is the work that goes into attending beauty pageants.  Now, if your teen was only interested in competing in a local pageant, this may not be as big of an issue for you.  However, there are beauty pageant families out there who actually spend time traveling across the country participating in beauty pageants. While you and your teen can do this if you want, it often places a lot of stress, both emotional and financial, on all family members.

Another one of the cons or downsides to allowing your teen to participate in a beauty pageant is the results.  Unfortunately, it seems as there is a stereotype associated with beauty pageants.  Many individuals only believe that beauty pageants are for those who are breathtakingly beautiful or skinny.  Perhaps, this is due in part to the fashion industry and many beauty pageant judges.  Although your teen can participate in a beauty pageant if she wants to, no matter what her appearance is, it is something that you may want to take into consideration.  For teens, there is nothing worse or more damaging to one’s self-esteem if they are told or made to feel as if they aren’t pretty or talented enough.

In keeping with the competition, your teen may find it quite difficult to jump right into beauty pageants.  A good number of the teens who participate in beauty pageant have done so since they were a toddler or elementary school aged.  While not always, these participants are often more likely to see success than someone who recently decided to enter a beauty pageant.  Of course, that doesn’t mean that your teen can’t place high or even win a beauty pageant, but it does mean that they may have a lot of hard work ahead of them.

The above mentioned pros and cons are just a few of the many that exist.  If your teen has recently asked you if they could take part in a beauty pageant, it is something that you and the rest of your family may want to seriously consider or at least closely examine.