Let's Talk About TLC

I watched My Strange Addiction for the first time Wednesday night.  I think it's fake.  Some of it.  I know that the hair pulling thing is real.  It is a disorder called Trichotillomania.  Someone was just telling me the other day that her daughter had that.  But overall, I wonder how much of that show is staged.  And just FYI, a shoe addiction isn't strange.  Aren't like 90% of women addicted to shoes?

Now, let's move on to Toddlers & Tiaras.  Here are some of the things from the episode I watched that I found disturbing.  *Note...this is the first (and likely the only) time I have watched this show.

How can a 15 month old, in the words of her mother, REALLY "enjoy pageants so much"??  She's a BABY!  Do you really have a good gauge for what she enjoys???  I do have to have a little respect for the fact that this mother waited until her daughter was SIX months old to get her started in pageants, don't I?  No...no I don't.  I was being sarcastic.  The same mother also said "I supply her with whatever it takes to win, because that's what we enjoy."  Again...she's a BABY!!!  It's what WE enjoy?  Fake nails and tanning?  How many times do I have to remind you that she is JUST A BABY????  Oh my gosh these people may drive me insane...duct taping a dress..."This is the first time we've had to use duct tape, so I'm hoping it's going to hold."  Right...because that's what is important.  What about an allergic reaction to the adhesive?  What about her poor little baby skin when you remove the tape?  And then the mother is talking about the behavior on stage and saying "She did horrible!"  Really?  Are you going to tell her that?  Because if you do, I have a feeling that in a few years she isn't going to want to keep up YOUR dream.  Over-the-top mom also said "I do not know how Sami would react today if she didn't win."  Yeah, I'm pretty sure she won't care one way or the other...she's a baby, remember?

From the words of a 6 year old, "I love pageants and I want to get money."  Don't get me wrong but am I the only one who finds it disturbing that a 6 year old likes pageants because she wants money?  I thought pageants weren't about the money...aren't they about world peace or something?  Isn't that why people doll up their babies (or themselves) and parade around a stage?  They're saving the world, one pageant at a time...

And I'm sorry (I'm really not) but subjecting a child who doesn't WANT their eyebrows waxed to eye brow waxing is not OK, in my book.  It isn't like she is saying "OK, let's do this."  The child is screaming while her mother subjects her to pain.  And then she said she doesn't like waxing.  Well, don't DO IT!  I want to cry for this little six year old.  The same girl cries that fake eyelashes hurt.  I'll give you that that particular girl might be a bit of a drama queen, but pain is pain.  Have you had your eyebrows waxed?  It hurts!  But then again, we are adults...

Of course, it is ultimately going to bring us world peace, so who am I to judge?

This may step on some toes.  Maybe you are a pageant mom.  Don't ALL pageant moms read my blog?  If so, please know that what I wrote above is just my reaction to what I saw on the show.  I am in no way saying YOU are a bad mom, or that you do not have your child's best interests at heart.  I don't know you and it's not my place to tell you how to parent.  I know that I'm the last parent that should be offering parenting advice!  I'm simply sharing my impressions of the SHOW Toddlers & Tiaras.