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Therapy and sanity for ordinary parents of special kids.

Toddlers, Tiaras, and Tans by Gina

Has anyone ever watched this show Toddlers and Tiaras, which features pageant moms and their pint-sized princesses? I wish I had the time to, but between my work watching The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and Atlanta and Keeping Up with the Kardashians and all their spinoffs,  I simply don’t have the time (though I did consider hiring an assistant to help me keep up with it all).

Something tells me that this show is like a bad car accident — you know you shouldn’t look, but you just have to.  It kinda of reminds me of an episode of another important show I used to “research” called Sunset Tan. This reality TV show was based on a real-life spray tan studio in California. In one particular episode, a “perfect Mom” brought in her elementary school age daughter for a tan. She said something like, “Look, she came out really pasty in her school picture. She needs color for the next one.”  The cute little girl looked horrified.

I’ve got to be honest, if I judged my kids’ cuteness by their school pictures, I’d be in serious trouble. If we can capture them without looking crosseyed, their hair standing straight up, or their mouths not looking wired shut by a mortician, it’s a great photo. I’ve posted my favorite school picture of my daughter Katie along with my 1st grade photo. Hopefully, my mother didn’t judge her self-worth on my school pictures. Talk about bad hair.

Reference: ‘Toddlers and Tiaras’ Mom Talks Dressing Her Child, 3, in Makeup and Cone Bras by

2 Responses to Toddlers, Tiaras, and Tans by Gina

  1. Barbie Knot January 12, 2011 at 4:57 pm #

    The best school pix are the “imperfect” ones! The tanned perfect pageant princess ones are not “typical” children in my opinion. The ones with missing teeth, crooked pigtails and the worst possible shirt are. 😀 Not that the pageant girls aren’t pretty (they certainly are and are meant to be!). They just don’t typify the glorious days of youth when you got up and exclaimed, “Look Mommy, I dressed myself!” and your mom (while mortified) let you go on for picture day because you were so proud of yourself.

  2. Judy January 12, 2011 at 5:13 pm #

    Love the new profile pic Gina! Mine is from 5th grade. I hate that these kids being taught that they will be judged on their looks. How do they feel if they lose, I’m not pretty enough? Ugh. Future counseling I’m thinking.

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