Toddlers & Tiaras - General Discussion

[Meredith Quill]

Your Media Topic!

[Meredith Quill]

A place to discuss particular episodes, arcs and moments from the show's run. Please remember this isn't a complete catch-all topic -- check out the forum for character topics and other places for show-related talk.

[Kromm]

When I saw this show as a forum request I wondered why someone was doing so.  But then I also thought about how long since Previously started it clearly took for a forum request to appear.

It made me wonder about the thinking behind being a fan of the show, or conversely of being a critic of it.

Without being personal about other posters' opinions, I'd like to talk about this a bit. It's dangerous admittedly, but IMO its probably better to admit that right up front and have a specific topic for it rather than it being everywhere. 

Really there's no way to talk about this and avoid phrases like "child abuse" and "child exploitation". That doesn't mean it IS that automatically, but given that the primary criticisms of the show surround those ideas, it would be an elephant in the room if we just avoid mentioning those words completely. So if you believe the show is not those things--or at the very least doesn't have to be and might only be in a worst case--feel free to say so. And if you feel the show inherently IS those things, please retain some respect for any who disagree with that.  State your case, but keep it on point.

And there are questions of if the show itself--viewing the show I mean and therefore contributing to advertising revenue for it feeding back into the show continuing to be produced--supports something immoral inherently or not. I have to admit to being so on the fence on that. Kiddie pageants would likely exist with or without this show, so I could see both points of view, even if it were clear or decisive that child beauty pageants were truly immoral.

So lets discuss. Cautiously and respectfully, I hope...

Edited July 23, 2016 by Kromm

[sleepyjean]

I just saw an ad for the upcoming season and could not believe this show is coming back. I thought this ship sailed long ago. And then went down in flames i the middle of the ocean when the Honey Boo Boo phenomenon finally fizzled out. I will definitely be watching to see if (a) they bring back any of the families from the last time around, (b) if the parents have learned anything or if they are still as clueless as ever, (c) if this is classic TNT or if they try to spin it differently.

 

I will admit to a certain amount of gleeful anticipation. I do enjoy some of the overtthetopness. I hope they don't try to go with a bunch of natural pageants or something like that. For me, the appeal is the ridiculousness of it. If it's not nutty and is just a bunch of regular looking kids standing around in macy's easter dresses, I'm out.

[Polliwollidoodle]

I do watch reality tv and consider it a guilty pleasure. I am always amazed at the parents  who are fully aware of being filmed, and still behave in ways that should cause shame . I dont even mean it in the judgemental question of if this is wrong to have the kids in pageants, but the super competitive moms and the cranky and or oblivious kids... I just cannot understand how the moms and dads, even if they are really into this, how they cannot recognize how horrible they come across. (and needless to say , with editing I believe they even look worse.)

[Honey]

Danielle terrifies me.  When I look in her eyes, I swear I see a future murderer.  What a creepy child.

Also, I would love to give Mackenzie the spanking she's been needing for the past few years.

Edited August 10, 2016 by Honey

[Miracle Maxie]

After watching entirely too much of that marathon yesterday, I realize that what I'd really like to see them do is Toddlers & Tiaras: Where Are They Now?  Has Danielle followed through on any of her threats? Is Mackenzie still looking for her ni-ni? And have any of the delusional mothers gotten something resembling a clue?

[bad things are bad]

Where are they now? That would be sweet! Some of them presumably have hit puberty so maybe a few new moms by now...

I bet a few done lost they looks as well. Possibly a few arrests...

(I too feel the shame of watching some of the marathon and was also astounded that they're bringing this trainwreck back. The lack of Duggars must be driving TLC to desperation)

[ItsHelloPattiagain]

Quote

Is Mackenzie still looking for her ni-ni? 

For YEARS after her episodes, my grown daughters and I would text "Ni-Ni is a hardworking woman" back and forth to crack ourselves up. Imagine my utter glee to see that very episode last night. And it's "Ma-KINZIE that rhymes with LINDSEY" y'all. 

I'm not ashamed. I cannot wait. This is my "Real Housewives". My not-so-guilty pleasure. 

[ItsHelloPattiagain]

Here's my perspective. My kids are now grown but when they were young they participated in all kinds of activities. I also volunteered with music programs.  Plus I worked at two gymnastics facilities (one was an Olympic training center which had kids on the national team) and now I work for a pediatric orthopedic clinic. 

There are cray-cray parents EVERYWHERE. When my kids took piano, there was a mother who videotaped all the group lessons and made her kid watch them back so the kid could be the best. I've seen loads of parents come to the gym and think their kids were on track for the Olympics at age 4. I've gone to my godson's baseball game and seen a man nearly have a stroke screaming at his kid through the fence (meanwhile the six year old is catching flies with his glove). I've seen parents pushing their girl so hard on the violin that the kid ended up anorexic. We see kids coming in with stress related injuries (particularly those ten year old baseball pitchers with the overused arms and torn up elbows). And I've seen little girls in dance recitals dressed in hooker-ish costumes and shaking in super suggestive ways. I could go on and on. 

It doesn't matter what activity the kid does. It matters how the parents approach the activity and what the goal is. My kids never got close to going to the Olympics or getting a college scholarship but they did learn about budgeting time and perseverance. They also learned to lose gracefully and participate as a group/ team. 

IMHO T&T shows a crazy/sometimes ugly side of just one activity. Nobody would watch if all the parents were normal lol.  And these pageants existed before T&T - my friend's daughter participated in various pageants about 20-25 years ago and I recognized a lot of the names on T&T. She also had a whole discussion with me back then about getting her girl a flipper and I made her a costume for her talent competition for one pageant. lol. 

[satrunrose]

I do very much agree that crazy parents are the bane of pretty much any organized activity and if I'm being honest, I do kind of watch because I find the parent's antics train wreck intriguing, as is the way the kids respond to their scary, nutty parents. I do have a few ways in which I do think gilts pageants are potentially more damaging than piano, soccer, hockey type activities, though.

1. It's so focused on external appearance. These kids spend years getting tons of attention for being, as a pageant director so memorably put it "facially gifted". The problem is, cute kids don't always become beautiful adults. How do these little girls deal with not being cute anymore if that's what they've been taught is their biggest worth?

2. Most other activities give you some kind of skill that you can use later in life. I never could figure else where else you can use the duck-lipped nod or that weird kiss-your-finger-draw-a-circle move. Also, given the way the parents seem to accept at best, encourage at worst "dive" and mean girl behaviour and the fact that it's not an activity that encourages any kind of team work or collaboration, the skills they're picking up might actually hurt them in other areas. 

3. In most other activities, hard work pays off enough of the time that kids learn why it's important (and doesn't pay off enough of the time that kids can learn life isn't always fair that way). I guess in pageants there is a certain amount of practice needed to "learn your routine" but on T&T we did see kids who screamed all through their practice sessions win top titles. What we never saw was the parents who were't going to spend ten fortunes on dresses etc. getting very far at all.  It bothers me that success in pageants is largely due to factors that the kids themselves can't control at all, namely how much their parents are willing to spend on hair, make-up and dresses.

[TaxNerd]

I was in Austin last weekend, and passed by the Radisson, home to many a pagent!  I used to stay there on business and frequently saw the cray cray.

Glad a forum is started, this show was a favorite of mine.

I loved the girl that fell off the stage, repeatedly.  Paisley maybe?  Would love a follow up with all the kids.

[Sam215]

On August 11, 2016 at 11:41 AM, satrunrose said:

It bothers me that success in pageants is largely due to factors that the kids themselves can't control at all, namely how much their parents are willing to spend on hair, make-up and dresses.

On August 10, 2016 at 7:59 PM, ItsHelloPattiagain said:

 

There are cray-cray parents EVERYWHERE.

This is true in any sport or activity.  My son plays chess on a national level and I have for several years wanted to pitch a show called "Chess Dads".  I am one of the few moms in the sport and those dads are crazy.  You can see at each level of tournament he plays at which parents can afford the very expensive private lessons three to five times a week, the new clocks, the newest programs to help with moves, the travel to various states often by plane and the hotel bills and which parents can give the kids a pencil and paper and hope for the best.  Better coaches, better tournaments equal better players for the most part.   On the other hand though, no real outlay of clothing is needed and unfortunately not much is spent on hygiene.

That being said I cannot wait for the new T and T.  It is also my guilty pleasure show.

[RealityCowgirl]

This show is my reality TV crack so, of course, I'll watch. Biggest WTF for me always will be families spending money they really don't have to chase that coveted (cheap) crown. Insane, ridiculous amounts of money.

[ItsHelloPattiagain]

Quote

 My son plays chess on a national level and I have for several years wanted to pitch a show called "Chess Dads".  I am one of the few moms in the sport and those dads are crazy.  You can see at each level of tournament he plays at which parents can afford the very expensive private lessons three to five times a week, the new clocks, the newest programs to help with moves, the travel to various states often by plane and the hotel bills and which parents can give the kids a pencil and paper and hope for the best.  

I forgot - you jogged my memory!....I went to my adopted niece's state Geography bee. Niece is high functioning Asperger's with a photographic memory, great in a small class situation or taking a paper test, but got decimated by the kids whose parents were obviously drilling their kids a la Child Genius. I'm all for preparing kids for competitions but the kid that won looked like he was going to spontaneously combust from anxiety during the rounds and his parents were drilling him even in between (I think they were maybe 10? 11? 

Quote

 It bothers me that success in pageants is largely due to factors that the kids themselves can't control at all, namely how much their parents are willing to spend on hair, make-up and dresses

I notice there are a lot of grandparents footing the bills. I guess it gives the families something to do on the weekends together besides hanging out at the Golden Corral. 

[Sam215]

18 hours ago, ItsHelloPattiagain said:

. I'm all for preparing kids for competitions but the kid that won looked like he was going to spontaneously combust from anxiety during the rounds and his parents were drilling him even in between (I think they were maybe 10? 11? 

 

This is what happens at chess tournaments also.  Lots of screaming and yelling and kids who look like they hate it.  My son had enough two years ago at a very well know tournament and he finished it out and didn't return for a year.  He isn't up to where he was but it was eating at him.  

Look forward to talking about these new episodes soon!

[megwhite]

God I love this show! it just brings enough of the cray-cray to make it entertaining. They so need to do a follow-up show I'm dying to find out what happened to these girls and the mom's. 

[poeticlicensed]

I agree there are crazy parents in every activity. The things that trouble me about pageants like those that are showcased on T &T are thzt

 

1. The focus on whatever they call beauty. And more times that not it's the blonde Barbie beauty. 

2. Babies doing beauty pageants. And the parents who insist it's the babies choice. Um OK. 

3. Bribing kids to perform by shoveling candy and soda down their throats. I've seen sugar cubes, those huge pixie sticks, mountain dew with extra sugar. I have raised kids and I'm not above bribing with a happy meal but a steady stream of sugar is not good for teeth or body. And after hours of sugar the kids crash and throw fits and the parents act surprised. 

4. The flippers, make up, spray tans, extensions hair dye in the glitz pageants. Its just creepy to dress 6 year olds like mini adults. I'd be so fearful that some pedophile was wacking off to my kids picture or worse, show up at a pageant. 

5. the moms who fight with each other. Ugh. 

6. The $$$. It just seems like there is an entire industry built around this crap. And it's so expensive. Who pays over a grand for a dress for a 3 year old. If you can afford it then fine but prize money never makes up for how much they put in to it. And while some of the parents look like they can afford it, other do not. A college fund would be a great place for all that money. 

My daughter used to twirl baton when she was young and her coach was also  a pageant coach so I got to see competitions first hand. But yhepageants she coached for were not those horrible pageants that they showcase in t and t. The pageants she coached for were junior miss and up. No 3 and 5 year olds. The girls were all teens and the pageants fed into the miss America and and miss USA and other programs. One of my daughter's friends was in the Miss America pageant system. She never did those kids pageants and says that is not a route to adult pageants. 

[Absolom]

3 hours ago, poeticlicensed said:

The $$$. It just seems like there is an entire industry built around this crap.

Absolutely and try to show the mamas who've been suckered into it that at the end of the "pageant career" all they have to show for it is some junk crowns and useless trophies and ribbons to toss in the garbage and they can't see it.  I've tried as I sat beading and begawding costumes and dresses.  They kept paying me so I kept doing it.  At least when I was doing skating costumes I felt better about it.  None of the pageant moms I knew had the extra money to toss around either.  It satisfies something missing in their lives more than something they do for their children it seems to me. 

[krawz555]

Seriously my guilty pleasure.  I, too, would love a follow up on these girls!  I remember watching a show that was just about Eden Wood and going to Hollywood to get into "the business."  The company they went and auditioned for told Eden and her mom that they do NOT see pageantry as a means of getting into acting or entertaining.  In fact, they discouraged girls to not do them if they ever wanted to get into acting.  It was interesting.

[Vivigirl10]

Count me in on needing an update!  I've been watching the reruns which are now a few years old and would love to know if these girls are still in pageants.  One of the more heartbreaking episodes was on with Carley and her psychotic Mom......"but it was your beauty, Carley"!  I fear how that little girl will grow up with such a cray-cray Momma.  

But then there was Alessondra (spelling?) whose Mom had the tanned, leather looking skin and the bleach blonde 80's hair.  They were used to doing natural pageants.  They were just so chill about the whole thing, even though they were horribly out of place.  And her Mom was so sweet to her, always telling her she did a good job no matter what.  You have to have those types on this mess to balance out the crazy.  

Quote

 I remember watching a show that was just about Eden Wood and going to Hollywood to get into "the business."  

Oh, poor, untalented, Little Miss Piggy.  I about died when her Mom did the talking head about "Hollywood calling" for Eden and then she winked at the camera.  Still waiting for that call, huh?  

[operalover]

This is my guilty pleasure too. I watch it with my jaw on the floor. I've actually saved 31 episodes on my DVR which I probably should delete cause it takes up a lot of room and I really never watch them. I hate Eden Wood and her mother who is still trying to campaign this kid to be a big star and she is just a regular kid.

My take on it is that some kids are advanced and age age 2 they can do things that other kids can't so they do well in these things. Like the ugly one with the madonna cone bras- she was very advanced and did well. She was not the second coming She could do a routine at age 2 and the others in her age group couldnt yet. Just a maturity thing- she is NOT the next Beyonce! god she was so unfortunate looking but would win cause she could follow a routine.

 Eden fell into that category of being advance for her age along with have this cherub face/pouty mouth thing that always looks cute on kids. However by the time they are five, all the kids catch up. Your child isn't the next big superstar. I think it's HILARIOUS how delusional the parents are. I enjoy their stressing because I remember trying to get my toddlers ready to go to the Sears photo studio and try to keep them in a good mood and their clothes clean. I was hoping they would be happy and cute but often they sensed my stress and would throw a tantrum once we got there...ha ha ha --It was so freaking stressful! I was a ball of stress because you know your kids are cute but you cannot get a 1, 2, 3 or 4 year old to show that cuteness on demand and they have moods and you can't time it. So it' funny when they spend all that money, that they don't have, when the kid is in the meltdown cycle. Brought on by the stress of the parents, trying to make this little baby look and act perfect on a time schedule. 

I also loved those twins where the mother favored one. I loved the other one when she was crying "I don't want to take Tom" they made her perform with this Turkey named Tom at the Animal pageant and gave other sister the baby lamb ..I don't know why I thought it was the cutest thing I ever saw her bawling "but I don't want to take Tom" wah wah wah...

Edited August 17, 2016 by operalover

[Cherrio]

Quietly looking around the room here to see who my fellow watchers are. :)

I was a big Mackenzie fan.  Sure she had "moments" but she was/is a bright little girl imo.    I think her mother has pulled her out of the spotlight which is great.I would much rather never see Mackenzie again so she can grow up without TLC and the spotlight.

My daughter and I (like another poster mentioned) are still using Mackenzie phrases.    Years ago we went to Disneyworld and after a few glasses of wine at the fancy restaurant at the Floridian we were doing the prissy walk, the fist under the chin move and other stuff on the walk back to the tram.  I recall one of us even did the one leg up in the air and jump around move.   Memorable night.

[TaxNerd]

20 hours ago, operalover said:

I also loved those twins where the mother favored one. I loved the other one when she was crying "I don't want to take Tom" they made her perform with this Turkey named Tom at the Animal pageant and gave other sister the baby lamb ..I don't know why I thought it was the cutest thing I ever saw her bawling "but I don't want to take Tom" wah wah wah...

Oh yeah!  That was so bizarre to blatantly favor one twin over the other.  Didn't the non-favored twin place higher in a following episode?  Poor baby didn't have a chance dressed as a turkey.

Edited August 18, 2016 by TaxNerd

[EVS]

30 minutes ago, Gabrielle Tracy said:

Very new to the bandwagon here!  I watched an episode with kids named Gracie, Jersie (who has a sister Brooklyn!), and a villain named Faithlyn.  Actually, it wasn't Faithlyn who was the villain; it was her mother/coach/whatever.  Lady looked like a horse with a spray tan and was calling other competitors ugly!  She also apparently referred to Gracie's family as the "White Trash Mafia".  I. Am. Hooked.

Welcome!  I have seen almost every episode. I find the show horrifying, but funny and addictive at the same time. My favorite thing is the editing. Like, a parent will say what a sweet, happy child their kid is, then the editors will show the kid having a fit about something. I like the early episodes the best. The moms are still delusional, but there are less confrontations. The last season or 2 was a little too 'Jerry Springer' for me. Unfortunately, it looks like the new season will be also. 

Faithlynn's coach (Nikki?) was horrible and unfortunately in more than one episode. Even more unfortunate, she was not the most vile adult on the show. There were several that were worse. As far as kids go, keep an eye out for Mackenzie "it rhymes with Lindsey".  She was on 3 or 4 episodes. I thought she was a spoiled brat her first episode, but she ended up being one of my favorites. 

Edited August 19, 2016 by EVS

[RealityCowgirl]

I watched the "Eden" special of a week or so ago, which confirmed one thing: I could never see mama Mickie ever again and be completely okay with that. Fortunately, they seem to have moved on from pageants.

The level of delusion from others was as silly as the last time we saw them. Bring on the crazy. I'm ready. :)

[funky-rat]

I remember Nikki posting on the old TWOP forum.  Trashy personified.  Never knew 100% if it was her, but it was someone close to the family judging by things they said.

I saw a clickbait article the other day that talked about Eden (was in some direct to video movie), Taralyn (doesn't seem to be in pageants anymore - it showed her playing the piano), Madison/Tootie (still doing pageants, and is a beautiful young woman), and Paisley (hooker costume - I can't remember if she's still doing pageants or not).

The one's I'd really love to see a follow-up on are Saint Danielle of the Stolen Spotlight, Lindsey - with the turd in the punchbowl cray-cray mom,  the younger sister of Jenny Foster who was born after she died (can't remember her name) and her cray-cray mom, the little girl with the certifiable Russian mother (THEY HATE HER!!!), and the IVF twins with the nouveau-riche mom we used to call horseface (who beat Saint Danielle, causing her to bawl at crowning).

Edited August 19, 2016 by funky-rat

[funky-rat]

My husband used to help teach Martial Arts.  Plenty of Cray-Cray people there.  Their school was not an "everyone gets a trophy" school. They used to do an "Olympics" every year, and you had to place top 3 to get a ribbon. I remember a kid freaking out (I was there taking photos) because he won 1st place, and didn't like blue.  He wanted a red ribbon.  He screamed for 30 minutes, and his mother was stomping around demanding they give him a 2nd place ribbon so he'd be happy.  In the end, they took his ribbon away and he got nothing because he violated one of the rules of their school - being a good sport.  She pulled him out of class after that.

[EVS]

Cheese dip Paisley. She was so funny!

I just saw the episode with Danielle and the twins.

"Where's the Louuuuis Vuiiiiton luggage!?!?!"  I would love to see an update on that family.  

Eta: I also want an update on the Sterling twins and Isabella with the glasses. 

Edited August 19, 2016 by EVS

[RealityCowgirl]

"Ni-Ni's a hard-workin' lady."

"When I have Ni-Ni, I don't care about nothin'."

Words I've always tried to live by. ;)

[momofsquid]

My favorite MaKenzie line is "You are drahving me nutzth." Must be uttered while leaning on elbow.

[megwhite]

I loved Makenzie I think she had it! way more then Eden Wood the wannabe, she could be star, but I liked that her mom wanted her to be a normal child, hopefully w/ a little more discipline.

[ellenr33]

Sad update for Mia (the one with the crazy russian mom) https://www.facebook.com/Miracles4Mia/

[EVS]

That is sad. I didn't read to see what kind she has, but I hope she gets through it.  

[PityFree]

Oh my. Mackenzie. It struck me that she is a mouth breather. When she wasn't on stage, she was staring at people with a blank look and her mouth hanging open. Odd. That mom is going to be sooooooo sorry she spoiled her so much someday. Mom created a monster. I want the show to follow up and see where she is now.

[funky-rat]

Poor Mia.  So sad.  :(

[ItsHelloPattiagain]

Quote

"Ni-Ni's a hard-workin' lady."

 

I used to randomly text this to my grown daughters for years just for a laugh. I would love to see what MaKinzie (that rhymes with "Lindsey") is up to. I imagine she's going to grow into a beautiful young woman now that Ni-Ni is kaput. 

One of my favorite moments was some random newborn baby boy competing in a pageant and his mother said "He likes to go out and meet people" . WTH? He's two freaking weeks old - he like to suck on bottles, poop his pants and be held!!!

[Lemons]

On August 10, 2016 at 7:59 PM, ItsHelloPattiagain said:

Here's my perspective. My kids are now grown but when they were young they participated in all kinds of activities. I also volunteered with music programs.  Plus I worked at two gymnastics facilities (one was an Olympic training center which had kids on the national team) and now I work for a pediatric orthopedic clinic. 

There are cray-cray parents EVERYWHERE. When my kids took piano, there was a mother who videotaped all the group lessons and made her kid watch them back so the kid could be the best. I've seen loads of parents come to the gym and think their kids were on track for the Olympics at age 4. I've gone to my godson's baseball game and seen a man nearly have a stroke screaming at his kid through the fence (meanwhile the six year old is catching flies with his glove). I've seen parents pushing their girl so hard on the violin that the kid ended up anorexic. We see kids coming in with stress related injuries (particularly those ten year old baseball pitchers with the overused arms and torn up elbows). And I've seen little girls in dance recitals dressed in hooker-ish costumes and shaking in super suggestive ways. I could go on and on. 

It doesn't matter what activity the kid does. It matters how the parents approach the activity and what the goal is. My kids never got close to going to the Olympics or getting a college scholarship but they did learn about budgeting time and perseverance. They also learned to lose gracefully and participate as a group/ team. 

IMHO T&T shows a crazy/sometimes ugly side of just one activity. Nobody would watch if all the parents were normal lol.  And these pageants existed before T&T - my friend's daughter participated in various pageants about 20-25 years ago and I recognized a lot of the names on T&T. She also had a whole discussion with me back then about getting her girl a flipper and I made her a costume for her talent competition for one pageant. lol. 

I think it does matter what activity your child does.  In most activities the money spent goes to instruction and classes.  Other expenses may include informs, equipment, travel. Children develop skills, a talent, etc.  playing an instrument, dancing, sports, all have lifelong values.

 With pageants, money is thrown away on children's manicures, spray tans, fake teeth, fake hair, make up and expenses dresses.  These things have zero value for a child.  The pageants award whichever child's family spent the most money.  There is no talent involved.  The "beauty" is manufactured to make 4 year olds look like 30 year olds.  Again, no value, nothing for the child.  The 4 year old doesn't even understand what's going on.   its a bizzare little world.

[pigs-in-space]

What is it with this show and mothers who blatantly favor one twin over the other?  I watched the first episode (or maybe second) that Eden was on, and there was also a set of fraternal twins (Brianne and Ashlynne or something like that) and the mother clearly thought one of the twins looked more like her and was therefore considered prettier, more confident, etc.  And of course she acted like a total brat throughout.

That one was kind of nice though, because the dad had the good sense to say she was not going to finish the pageant because as her parent he was responsible for her behavior and he wasn't going to reward her for that.  The mother, of course, was upset that she didn't get to finish competing, and told her later that she beat her sister (second runner up vs. third runner up - woo hoo).  That was also a Universal Royalty pageant, and Annette, the director, who I usually find a little silly on this, gave the less favored twin the "Director's Choice" award, which I thought was really sweet.  The girl was clearly trying really hard despite being told constantly that she wasn't as good as her sister.

Eden was really a complete non-entity in that episode compared to that family.

[funky-rat]

I did some brief digging.  Looks like Linsdey isn't in pageants anymore.  She's in high school and I found a lot of track and field stuff, so it sounds like she's found something to do that will help her more than pageants.  Still a pretty girl.

Couldn't find anything on Cassidy that wasn't old and related to the show (Jenny Foster's sister - her name finally popped into my head).

I found Danielle's last name, but I don't remember where she was from, so I'm not sure if any of the stuff I found relates to her or not.

[ellenr33]

I found out recently that one of the girls from a toddlers and tiaras episode went on to star in Parks and Rec as Ron Swanson's daughter (I knew she looked familiar).

[EVS]

Just now, Gabrielle Tracy said:

She's the little girl with the whiskey and cigarette sounding voice, right?  I loved her!  I don't know why, but there is just something adorable to her!  Kind of like she's in on the joke or something.

That's her. Imo, she needed some discipline, but she seemed bright and creative and also seemed genuinely happy for other girls when they did well. She was definitely entertaining!

[EVS]

11 hours ago, ellenr33 said:

I found out recently that one of the girls from a toddlers and tiaras episode went on to star in Parks and Rec as Ron Swanson's daughter (I knew she looked familiar).

I looked it up.  It was Rylan.

 

She was a cute little girl.  I had no idea she became an actress.

[TaxNerd]

2 hours ago, Gabrielle Tracy said:

I have to wonder if winning pageants is based more on who you know or what your reputation is.  Case in point, the Dorseyville Corn Queen in my hometown almost always resembled a donkey with wide hips and a big blonde wig.

But I digress...  those babies that are only months (and sometimes weeks) old; what in the world are they judged on?  Costumes?  I mean, they're infants.  They eat, poop and sleep.  One doesn't look very different than another!

Absolutely depends on who you know!  Also how much you spend.  Most of the titles can only be won if you buy into every category, which can be up to $1500 a competition.  That's why so many of these people say they won their first competition, the directors know they need to hook fresh bait.

[Absolom]

It can be using the right suppliers (friends of the pageant owner) and entering everything.  They aren't going to reward people who don't bring them dollars.

[PamelaMaeSnap]

I am embarrassingly and irredeemably excited about the return of T&T ... I HAD NO IDEA it was coming back until I was searching for something else on DTV "Smart Search" and saw it ... and currently have an entire 24-episode marathon taping for my personal amusement and possible schadenfreude.  

The TWOP thread for this show was my happy place (second only, perhaps, to the late lamented Show Biz Moms and Dads though we did have some Debbie/Emily Tye crossover there) and I am happy to have found this place where I can share ...

We're actually in the process of getting a new TV today (the old one crapped out right at the end of the Olympics ... I think the Russian group rhythmic gymnastics routine killed it) and I had to sort of side-mouth confirm that the recording I was doing would still work even without, you know, a TV attached (yes it will, it goes right to the DTV receiver and the orange light is on) ... but then I had to tell hubby WHY ... the eye roll was epic.

Can't wait for Mackinzie-rhymes-with-Lindsey, Eden, the twins with the awful mom and, of course, that hard-working lady ni-ni.  Gonna stock up on wine and low-cal treats and once that new 43-inch baby is locked and loaded I'll see those cheap-ass crowns larger than life from the comfort of my La-Z-Boy! Life is good.

[Cherrio]

Marathon going on, I need to walk away from my tv.    Prissy walk away.

Oh !    I wonder if Ava and her pageant dad will be back?  What a train wreck they were.

[poeticlicensed]

I just found this online about costs. Universal Royalty is one of the pageants featured in T &T:

"There is a minimum cost of $545 to enter the [Universal Royalty] pageant, which covers basic entry fees. Another $395 is needed for the maximum options of this pageant. The average cost of the pageant is about $655 which includes the formal wear, sports wear and dance."

And that's just the entry fee! So even if a child won Ultimate Taco Grande Supreme, the prize money would have to be in excess of $500 just to break even. And that doesn't account for costumes, hair, makeup, travel, lessons, coaches, etc, etc.  

[JennB]

I caught the Elizabeth/Ava episode (with the drag-queen judges) over the weekend and was reminded how delightful Elizabeth is. I love how they went back and forth between Ava having the world's hugest tantrum about coming in second and Elizabeth being overjoyed that she won, and totally deserving it.

[Absolom]

Yes, folks, it's a total rip-off racket preying on parents with issues and a basic lack of logical thinking.