After yet another gasp from the public over the display of parading clueless toddlers down a runway as dressed up little dollies on TLC’s Toddlers and Tiaras, the mother of this child tried (unsuccessfully I’d say) to defend herself recently.
Mom Wendy Dickey recently told TMZ, “I’m raising my child just as well as any mother does … I take my kid to church every week … at least I’m not forcing them into sports and getting my child injured like some parents.”
Really Wendy?
Dressing your 3 year old like a prostitute is certainly saving her from a lifetime of sports injuries from those nasty activities like running, jumping, kicking a ball and enjoying life as a toddler.
Toddlers and Tiaras is a trainwreck on the screen and, admittedly, a show I have never watched. The amount of media attention given to these moms is enough to keep me updated on their latest faux pas in parenting.
I have a huge issue with toddlers and young girls dressed provocatively, especially when parents shrug their shoulders and say that “everyone else is doing it”.
I scoff at bikinis on second grade girls, slutty Halloween costumes for tweens, and make-up on preschoolers because of a dance production on stage.
Maybe I’m old fashioned. Maybe, unlike Wendy, I have no desire to relive my (lost) youth in dressing my daughter like a prostitute to hopefully win some prize – which in the end means absolutely nothing.
I guess I’ll be among the “some parents” that allows her daugther to run, jump, play and be a little girl before the rest of the world starts trying to convince her why she doesn’t measure up. She certainly as a lifetime of that ahead of her.
I just don’t get it… I don’t understand how they think this is cute. When my girls were small I dressed them like little girls, then sent them outside to play. Right now, they are well adjusted teens with a fairly healthy level of self-esteem. They understand that their self-worth is not based on their appearance or performance. I don’t understand how these moms think they are benefitting their kids in any way at all. It makes me sad…
I guess each to their own but I can tell you my girls aren’t being entered into these contents. I am bracing myself for when they ask how the girls get the crowns in the local parade though … for now, I am letting them pay on the playground out back in their church dresses.;)
My little girl doesn’t need to be paraded around to feel like a princess. I would be worried..if they are dressed like this at 3 & 4 and learned to flaunt and strut their stuff…how are they going to dress when they are 14 & 15. Yikes. I want to keep my little girl little for as long as I can…and that means playing barbies and my little ponies for many years!!
My daughter is a teen and I wouldn’t want her to dress like this. I think it’s really sad that we expect little girls to grow up so quickly. Responsibility comes along much too soon as it is. Let them be little for a while. I have no problem with pageants in general if the child wants to participate and isn’t dressed up to appear to be an adult. There are natural pageants that celebrate the natural beauty of a child vs glitz pageants which tend to emphasize big hair, fake teeth, and make little girls look older than they are.
Well Ladies not sure if this site would allow the real language I feel like using here right now! That put aside I will continue….
First I totally do not agree with many things that American TV portrays…. often so called ‘experts” speaking down to people when all those people are guilty of is reaching out for a little help… then we have the “reality shows” where anything goes, wife mothers that have no pride at all and will do anything for a moment is the spot light.. I can stomach it all.
From day 1Toddlers and Tiaras, has made my blood boil. I question the psychological state of mind of any parents that thinks it’s ok to brain wash their children into thinking beauty is only skin deep, and that beauty being skin deep is under 3 inches of make up!!!
But then let’s stop and think…. isn’t this the same country that thinks Jerry Springer and Orange County House Wives is “TV worth watching” need I say more.
I don’t have a little girl. I can tell you, if I did she would not look like the picture above.
I don’t get it either. I too have never watched the show, the reason, it actually makes me feel ill. Seems at 34 years old I’m more old fashioned than some. I have twin 6 yr olds and a 3 year old – all girls. For their dance recital they did NOT wear mascara – as strongly suggested by the instructor. My girls DO NOT wear red polish on their fingers. In fact, the only thing that goes on the fingers is clear or sparkles.
It’s a shame that stores like La Senza Girl are around and that they do “good business”. I just want my girls to enjoy being young, experimenting, getting dirty, running and learning who they are… just sayin’
You know the thing that completely freaks me out? The MIDDLE AGED MEN THAT ARE JUDGING THEM!!!! Um, creepy old man, much??
I am a mother of 3 my oldest is a 14 year old girl. She is not allowed to show clevage or belly and if wearing shorts it must come down past her fingers. It is called being modest. I cringe when I shop for my 8 year old because she wears size 14 for most things. Do you know how hard it is to find a PRETTY LITTLE GIRL dress in size 14. EVERYTHING is either BLACK AND WHITE… or extremely SLUTTY. And I will NOT allow my daughter to wear slutty clothes. We have sucessfully found about 3 dresses for her that I will let her wear that are not black and white. Again black and white is an age thing it seems as they get older the clothes go blacker and less material… I will take up sewing before letting my daughter wear clothes like they do on that show.
I thought it was for Halloween dressing her up like Julia ROberts in Pretty Women I honestly didnt’ think she did that as a show for stage presence. I have attempted to watch the show 1 or 2 times but honestly I just think it’s ridiculous I only saw the commercial about this one and thought it was stupid
It’s funny how you say the show is a “train wreck” but have never watched it! So how is it that you have nothing better to do than judge the choice other parents are making about their kids. If you’re gonna waist your time why not choose something that matters, Like the growing number of homeless children, Children that go to bed with out a descent meal because their parents can’t get work, or how about male sexual mutilation otherwise known as circumcision. You sound like a conservative churchie that needs to prove how conservative she is so that she fits in!
The other thing is- the show is about a contest, in this contest you wear costumes! It’s not about what they wear every day! And by the way, I have watched it once or maybe twice and they do show the normal little girls, dressed like normal little girls, acting like normal little girls! not sluts!
I’m sorry, but the world has gone to hell in a hand basket if being a “conservative churchie” is supposed to be a derogatory term. I’m sure many non-church-goers would agree dressing a child like a hooker whether it’s just a “fun, little dress up time,” usually would mean a moral, mental switch is off somewhere in that parent’s mind.
Ya, it IS a train wreck! A Train wreck waiting to happen with little tiny babies dressed up in VERY adult like costumes. When is that ever okay or acceptable? Oh ya, on this show.
You can go ahead and call me a ‘conservative churchie’ too!
I read this post last night but then my laptop died before I could reply and I was very sad….
Now…. I do not watch this show but the other day we were channel flipping (and by we I mean my husband) and he stopped on this train wreck of a show and when I saw that little girl dressed up like Vivian I lost it. Are you for real!? You dressed your 3 year old child up as a prostitute? What message are you sending your kid? I get that she was “just a character” in a movie but if you wanted to do that why not dress her up as…I dunno….Maggie from Herbie? Why not Jessie from Toy Story? Why not dress her up as something AGE appropriate for things she can actually watch!
When everyone was telling me to put D into modeling, things like this crossed my mind. I finally caved and signed D to an agency but Im very strict about what she is and isn’t allowed to audition for and I will continue to do so as D gets older.
Also, Sarah OK, maybe these mothers can spend less money waxing, tweezing, dressing up their children and donate some of that wasted money on feeding homeless kids in their communities. There is no reason to start flinging out names like conservative churchie…although there is nothing wrong with that. I’d rather be a conservative person with morals and values that teaches my child that vs a mom who allows her kid to walk around scantly clad. There are so many costumes in this world, does the kid really need to have her tits and ass hanging out to win? If that is okay at 3 years old what is okay at 16?
I guess you can call me a “conservative churchie”! I’ll gladly wear the title. It’s not okay, ever, to allow your children to dress like a prostitute! Costume or not!
Call me conservative churchie as well because that outfit is utterly disgusting. That poor 3 year old has no idea what’s going on and it’s her moms job to protect her little one and make sure she is ok, not solicit her for competition. I’ve landed on this show a handful of times and when they break out the wax on their little ones eyebrows I just lose it. I’m disgusted thinking that my little 3 year old girl who is to tall for 5T shirts anymore will have to shop in the little girls section now and I have a heck of a time trying to find something for her that is age appropriate. Some of the shirts in the little girls section I wouldn’t even degrade myself by wearing that style, and I’m a grown woman. Seriously makes me wonder how much mothers and fathers value their little girls now, sad stuff.
I’m amazed at how anyone can rationalize allowing a little girl to think dressing like a sex worker is “fun”. And it’s a trainwreck for more reasons than just the outfits. I have watched the show several times and even when they are dressed in normal clothing the little girls are allowed to have rotten attitudes, scream at their parents and practice gyrating dance moves like they should be swinging around a pole at the local truck stop topless bar. Some of the mothers are no better. Making their daughters feel like they did something wrong because they didn’t win a cheap crown, yelling at other mothers, etc. I even saw an episode where the mother told her daughter she wasn’t being sexy enough. You want to talk about spending time on something ‘worthwhile’? How about the rising rate of teen pregnancy and STDs in children as young as 13? Teaching them that winning requires dressing like an ex porn star is definitely helping that problem, I’m sure.
I just had to go through a three hour class about keeping kids safe. I actually heard sexual predators describe what tehy were looking for in children and their parents so that they could “prey” on the children. I don’t see why we have to make it easier for them by showcasing this as a norm for a child to be dressed and paraded around.
(And if you have a church or school that offers safety education training, I’d take it. It really opens your eyes on how to keep your child safe – for boys, girls, toddlers and adolescents.)
I’m with you, I hear about this show but I don’t even want to ever see it. I don’t like bikinis on babies, let alone elementary age girls!
I think something is desperately wrong with some of these mothers to let their children wear such revealing/sleazy clothes. I also hate the way they treat the kids, either they yell at them, or let them get away with too much, so they don’t “upset” the child before a pageant. So much wrong!
I have a hate/love with that show. you just can’t help watching the train wrecks. Isabella has watched some of them with me, but even she (who is 7) has said they wear too much makeup. Have you watched DanceMoms on Lifetime? Moms are crazy about this stuff
Kas
This is repulsive to me. I don’t mind the idea of pageants so much, but all the fake tans, fake eye lashes, fake everything just tells these little girls from a young age that they aren’t good enough on their own. This stunt was taking it way to far. Why would you dress your innocent little girl up as a hooker?
I do not agree with the choice of costume, nor do I agree with waxing, tweezing, painting up, or tanning a 3 year old (or even a 10 year old for that matter). I disagree with this show altogether because I can only imagine how many pedophiles watch it for the wrong reasons! I think the idea of a pageant, if done correctly, could be a healthy dose of fun and confidence building for a litrtle girl who wanted to do it. I think that you would have to be a very brave little girl to go on stage and talk, sing, and dance in front of all those people and it would probably be very exciting and fun for them to do it. So if there were a natural pageant that was only about the enjoyment of the kids I would support it.
I cried when I saw this pic…I absolutely am against the TLC show Toddlers and Tiaras! I am glad you posted this. Some people need to give their head a shake:( My 9 year old daughter continues to ask for a bikini because ‘everyone her age has one” YIKES! And then she sees the padded bras in walmart that are for her size! I really don’t understand how the media can continue to air this series, it’s sickening really!
Oh God , chill out .
Yes , it was a little wrong to have her dress like this , but c’mon . she’s freakin’ 3 years old & all she’s thinking is this is a costume she can perform in . AND have y’all seen some of the other girls costumes ? & the mother , i honestly give her some props . i fell in love with Julia Roberst when she played the star in this movie . ha did y’all for one second even think of the theme of the movie ? no . instaed , you bash on this mother , who simply thought i’d be a cute idea . i mean , do you honestly think she thought to herself ” I want my three year old daughter to be a prostitute instead of being Miss America ” . ha , i think this is dumb . who knows , maybe she’s one of those moms who wants to live her life that she didn’t have through her three year old daughter . so what ? let her . what does that have to do with you ? thaaat;s right . . . NOTHING . i myself am completely on board with strongly dislikeing this show . i mean , caking your 2 – 12 year old daughter into three inches of make-up & tanning spray – gross . BUT , it is also a “Glits” pagent . Look it up . & i can come up with many things that is wrong with these pagent things , but then again – you feel like a princess , & really – what girl doesn’t wanna feel like a princess . Like it or not , Deal with it . It happened , nothing you can do about it .
i LOVE the idea of the costume .