OT: Natural Beauty Pageants

I have mixed opinions. I put my son in one as an infant because it was for charity. He actually did very well, especially since he wore overalls and other little boys were wearing tuxs (not kidding!)But, during it I went into the bathroom and there were a bunch of moms and little girls in there. One little girl was crying as her mom was teasing her hair and the mom yelled at her to not mess up her face. Other moms were gossiping about other little girls, how so and so was wearing a dress she had worn before at another pageant or so and so had bought a used dress and was wearing it and also talking about other little girls looks. I was sick to my stomach and we never did another one. On the other hand my daughter's dance teacher did a lot of them growing up, and she says it gave her confidence she was lacking because she was tall for her age. She also ended up earning money which helped her pay for college. She says it was a good experience, though she has not let her daughters do any yet. Another friend who adopted a child through foster care found that her daughter loved pageants and it made her feel good about herself. She doesn't care if she wins, she just likes the getting dressed up and having fun. It's been good for her, because her self esteem was bad and it's been a boost. But, in both of those cases pageants were not all they did or do. The dance teacher did dance and played sports and other things. The little girl does volunteer work (she likes making sure other kids don't go hungry like she did) and she plays sports and loves to read. So I guess take it pageant by pageant and follow your daughters cues. If she seems to be changing in a way you don't like you can stop.