Little Girls and Pageants

I must admit I am guilty of watching "Toddlers and Tiaras," but more out of astonishment than actual interest. I think it is harmful for young girls, 2 and up, to be competing in beauty pageants. (I started competing in pageants when I was 13, old enough to make the decison for myself and I've entered mostly scholarship pageants which are not based on beauty but academics, community service, talent, and accomplishments.) Little girls who are being forced to compete in pageants by their mothers or grandmothers can have a negative effect on them. I can't believe how many little girls I've seen with fake teeth, spray tans, makeup, and fake eyelashes. This is not setting a good example for these impressionable girls who grow up thinking that fake is the way to be successful. I just think this has become an issue with our society. Little girls should not be dressing up like dolls for money, there is just something unethical about the whole thing.