Earlier this year my sister, I'll call her Christine, told me about a show called Toddlers and Tiaras. We don't have cable, so we usually find things out through the internet or friends. I had heard about it before them. Christine told me it was a horrible show and that I should never watch it. A couple months later, I had run out of episodes on all the shows I liked, so I began to peek around for more. I thought of Toddlers and Tiaras. Was it really as bad as Christine had told me it was? Probably... but would I regret watching it? I decided to see, but I never got around to it. Obviously, I wasn't too interested. But it just so happened that when we went on vacation this summer and our grandfather had TV. More often than not there was nothing but junk on. Once or twice we got on around MythBusters time (a show we like to watch occasionally on YouTube) and Say Yes To the Dress or I Found the Dress. We were hoping for CakeBoss, a favorite in our house. Then, it happened, no other interesting show we could find or risk was on except Toddlers and Tiaras. Why not? So we did. My two sisters, my little brother, and I.
Christine was right! It was horrible. I was horrified that I found it oddly and disturbingly intriguing. Here are a few reasons I do not like the show.
One, many of those children are brats. The entire world is about them and being beautiful and crushing those other little girls who think they are beautiful. Why do I have an issue with that? Not only does it make no decent person - and INFLUENCE - want to be around them, but they are missing a big life point that is crucial for them to learn while they're young; life is not all about them and people won't tolerate brats. Young people don't learn it enough these days, these young people are being taught the opposite. What's going to happen to them when they get older? I cringe to think.
Two, all about beauty. When I was a little girl, yes I enjoyed playing with make-up. I usually made myself look like a clown, it was great! I enjoyed playing dress-up, too. Yes, I enjoyed competing with the boys, climbing so high that the trunk of the tree swayed under my weight or no one could see me, or play Little House on the Prairie or something. But beauty was one of the last things on my mind. My mom picked out my clothes and it is only because of her I look good in my childhood pictures. It has been hard to become a young adult and struggle with image. You have to weigh a certain amount. You have to wear make-up a certain way. You have to have the right fashion. Etc... this is hard to deal with knowing these values aren't even true. Why are these little girls being taught so young about these troubles and not only that but being taught that it does matter. Can one imagine what losing feels like for a little girl? Many of these girls are in fact too young to fully understand. That's the hope. But when they get older they might understand and on top of that, this is what their mom and dad are teaching them.
Three, the exploiting. Okay, this might seem a bit exaggerated, but I can't tell you how much my heart dropped when I saw a three year old dancing as a belly dancer on the stage. Really? Really? That is when I turned it off. I didn't want my brother seeing that. What sort of paths are being set for these little people? What are they being taught? Sure, many of them, luckily, don't understand, and hopefully real life will teach any bad habits out of them really quickly, but who knows, it may solidify them. It just doesn't seem healthy to expose little minds so ready to learn and be influenced about things they will no doubt struggle with when they are older and teaching them the wrong side of it, too.
It may not be doomsday for these little girls, but it sure is opening doors to wrong paths for their futures and lies to take hold that may haunt them their entire lives or cause at least a great struggle to be freed from. While watching parts of the show, a verse kept on coming to mind: "If anyone causes one of these little ones--those who believe in me--to
stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung
around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea." - Matthew 18:6
"And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones
who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not
lose their reward." - Matthew 10:42
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