MissAnthropy

It's already been said, but yeah-- it's pretty much a chicken period.

@212960 (Ree): I agree with you completely. My mom is also a teacher (though not a Special Ed teacher, so I can't completely relate), and I honestly don't know how she manages to deal with so many complete idiots without losing her mind. She's almost constantly dealing with parents, sorting out lesson plans, grading work, ect... It's a far more demanding job than people seem to think.

You shouldn't be so quick to lump everything together and write it off as OMGCHILDABUSE.

I agree that pageants in general definitely aren't helping our perception of beauty/how people see themselves, but seriously...come on now. There's no need to stereotype and be rude about it. Most of the children enjoy being in pageants--it's a fun, "princessy" sort of experience for them. It's also something that can potentially help them gain more self-confidence. I'm not saying you DON'T get the occasional crazy, obsessive parent...but that's something to be expected ANYWHERE where children are involved (think about all of the overbearing fathers who pressure their sons to play football, ect.) It's really nothing new. As long as the child is having fun-- and the parent has a good head on their shoulders, so they can educate their child and let them know that being pretty should NOT become their priority in life (or even matter to them at all in the long run), I'm failing to see the problem here. Hell, didn't we all play dress-up at some point in our childhood?

As long as there's nobody right beside you, have at it.

I've never liked the 'catsup' spelling. Looks too much like 'cat soup' for me. :|