Child Pageants Essay

First and foremost, child beauty pageants can damage family finances. Martina Cartwright, an adjunct faculty member at the University of Arizona, wrote in her research regarding child pageants that the average total cost of participating in a single competition is between $3,000 and $5,000 dollars while an entry fee of a child beauty pageant runs from $25 to over $500. In addition, each outfit for a competing child normally is priced from $300 to $500, or even higher. Since a child needs to wear several outfits in a contest, the cost of their outfits can add up to over $4,000 dollars (Healy). Parents also need to pay extra money for professional coaching sessions. The cost of a pageant can be stressful for families, particularly those entering their child in more than one pageant a year. Many pageant moms argue that they do
A child’s skin and hair are too sensitive to use fake tan, heavy make-up, and hair spray. Ross Chainey, an Australian Health & Wellbeing editor of The Media Sanctuary, stated that on the average, these beauty supplies have “175 different chemicals” (Chainey). It is possible for a person to be allergic to or somehow become infected by any of the ingredients in the beauty supplies. For example, according to Dr. Susan Blakeney, a spokeswoman for the College of Optometrists, “mascara can be a breeding ground for bacteria” which can lead to itchy, watery, and red eyes” (Chainey). Using fake hair and fake teeth for a long period of time also have specific effects on the hair and the skin of children. People may say that a child competing in the pageant does not wear as much make up as an adult. However, a child’s skin and body are not fully developed; therefore, children are sensitive to chemicals, and their immune systems are not as strongly developed as adult’s immune system to be able to fight diseases and allergic reactions