Dance Moms Versus Pageant Child Contestants : What’s The Difference?

Dance moms versus pageant child contestants: In this article, we take a look at dance moms and pageant child contestants as they both feature young children, specifically young girls who are in competition with each other for a title or some other form of recognition. This makes for somewhat of an interesting article considering all the negativity surrounding child beauty pageants.

Dance Moms has been a hit TV series for the past 7 seasons. The premise is to follow the lives of a group of girls enrolled in a dance school run by their competitive mothers under the leadership of Abby Lee Miller. They are all under the age of 12 and as the show progresses, they end up competing in dance competitions where they need to win 3 out of 5 rounds. The show has faced many controversies over its history, with many parents accusing it of exploitation and arguing that it portrays an unrealistic portrayal of dance moms.

In 2013, the show faced criticism for its exploitative nature. Parents argued that the show was portraying an unrealistic depiction of dance moms. It also received criticism in 2016 when Abby Lee Miller’s bankruptcy woes was broadcast. Monies were used to pay off her debts from Dance Moms. Debts which included money owed to students and employees at ALDC studios. This sparked controversy when former Dance Moms cast members stated that they never saw any payments made by Lifetime in comparison

Pageant-child contestants include very young children and there seem to be no signs that this trend will reverse itself anytime soon. These Pageant-child contestants are raised to believe that perfection is the end-all-be-all and if you aren’t perfect or you can’t maintain it then you aren’t good enough. This is enormous pressure and stress for young children to bear. This is not fair as children should be given the chance to enjoy their childhood. Child beauty pageants are supposed to be fun and entertaining, but because of certain aspects it has become very controversial.

Parents allow their children to compete for prizes and recognition. These competitions can range from dancing, singing, and modeling as well as other skills. Pageant child contests are usually structured by age groups and the skill they will be competing in. These skills can usually be narrowed to one or two categories such as talent or speech. There is usually a set time limit for the children to complete these events and they can be anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour long.

Pageant-child contestants should be able to quit whenever they want. But sad to say, many times this doesn’t happen as children are either forced into child pageants or do not have a say in the matter. Mothers tend to keep pushing these kids to enter these pageant-child competitions long after the fun of the pageant has disappeared. These mothers usually live their dreams through the life of that particular child and will not give up until they’ve accomplished their goal. This is wrong as children were never meant to be an avenue for mothers to live out their dreams and fantasies.

There was once a high-profile murder case in which a young contestant was the victim. She was later identified and it was reported that her murder was at the hands of a family member. Right at the heart of this tragedy was the pageant-child beauty competition. This incident rocked the pageant world while eliciting all kinds of negative connotations. Deep down, detectives blamed the mother for the murder and many others also blamed the mom inferring that, she was living her dreams and aspirations through the life of her daughter.

The popular reality television hit series is about young children early dance careers and their moms who will stop at nothing to see that these young children achieve those dreams. Not that there’s any thing wrong with that, is just that, most of these moms seem to be living out their dreams through the lives and (sometimes) dreams of these very young kids. Abby Miller, who is the dance instructor in the show and who in reality owns and operates her own dance studio, is very demanding and pushes these young kids to the limits.

The young children in the tv show, dance moms and pageant-child competitions are forced to grow up rather quickly. As a result, they have issues with low self-esteem and often times end up spending ample time with a Psychiatrist later on in life. These kids are under much pressure to perform at a much higher standard than they normally would and, many times they fall short of the mark. Pageantchild contestants as well as TV show dance moms contestants should be allowed to fail without any repercussions and should be taught that failure is a natural part of growing up.

Such intense pressure and continuous pushing of these young children takes its toll as it puts lots of strain on these young kids; thereby, wounding their self esteem in the process. At times, it affects the way they view and look at themselves. Young children who undergo stressful situations tend to have mental health issues later on in life, issues that include depression and low self esteem. These children tend to think that they will never measure up especially if they are put into situations where they never emerge as winners.

This reality TV series ,Dance Moms has implemented the pyramid method, where dancers who Abbey feels perform the best are placed on top, while the bottom is reserved for those who did poorly and need improvement. This has sparked and fueled lots of controversy because of its many negative aspects. The majority of those involved wanted to get rid of the pyramid, but the producers decided to keep and continue to use it. This puts the young dancers under immense pressure to out perform each other no matter what the cost and; this is very detrimental to their mental state. Kids like these grow up spending most of their time in the Psychiatrists office regularly as a result of mental illness and other issues like anorexia and bulimia.

You may conclude after reading this article, Pageantchild contestants versus TV show dance moms both take their toll on the lives of these very young girls who should be allowed to be children and enjoy childhood instead of being pressured to win all the time.