Celebrity children and pageant queens come under fire as eating disorders and plastic surgery rise in youth
By Liz Lockhart
The importance of childhood cannot be underestimated; it should be filled with magic and laughter, innocence and adventure. The experiences that we encounter when we are young tend to shape us in later life. We see more and more reports about children with poor mental health and are saddened at how this magical time can be dogged by depression, anxiety, eating disorders and other mental health disorders.
A recent Mental Healthy report on Thylane Lena-Rose Blondeau caused concern to our readers as her pictures were spread across the world. She was dressed in adult clothing and high-heeled shoes, with make-up and jewellery for a Vogue Paris photo-spread. You can read that account here.
In last weeks OK magazine we come across more sad and sorded pictures of celebrity children and pageant girls as young as 2 and 3 being dressed like very provocative adults.
A beautiful little girl called Maddy Jackson is pictured as she tries out a pair of fake boobs for size and then is pictured wearing them in a beauty pageant. Her hair is back-combed high on her head and her face is caked with make-up. The magazine Bella also carries the front story of pageant girl Paisley Dickey (3) dressed as a prostitute (which we choose not to publish as we don't agree with the depiction of children as prostitutes!).
Photographs of Katie Price and Peter Andre’s children, Junior and Princess have been flying around the press and internet recently and have also caused a similar stir. Princess is pictured with false eyelashes, eye-shadow and lipstick and instead of resembling the pretty little two-year-old that she was at the time of the photo, she looks hideous.
The article says that Katie Price posted this picture of her daughter on Facebook and when Peter Andre saw it he is quoted as saying ‘It’s a two-year-old girl, with false eyelashes, full make-up for the whole world to see. To be honest I’m disgusted with it – I don’t want to see that’. Junior has also been pictured with a bleached Mohican which, according to OK, is something else that angered his father.
Perhaps not as provocative or outrageous as the little girls from this story Gwen Stefani’s son, Kingston (5), drew glances as his hair went from a bleached blonde mohican to a bright blue Mohawk.
But most shocking and saddening to us is the little girl who never drops from the spotlight as being overindulged and prematurely dressed as an adult, Suri Cruise. The five-year-old daughter of Tom Cruise and Kate Holmes. The tabloids are awash with pictures of Suri dressed in high-heeled shoes as she strides down the street with bright red lips and make-up. Many reports state that she regularly enjoys meals at glam restaurants in New York until 1am and has been seen carrying £500 Dolce & Gabbana handbags. She is reported to have enjoyed a £600 make-up shopping spree.
‘Not only is the welfare of these children and where they will find their values and self esteem of concern here, I worry about the message this sends other children’ Charlotte Fantelli Mental Healthy editor comments.
‘Childhood is turning more and more competitive as the world and media focuses on what people have and what they look like, we are seeing more and more cases of eating disorders in children and more plastic surgery among teenagers. It is images like these, and the way these children are portrayed by the press that sews the seeds in the vulnerable.’ Charlotte Continues
Children have always loved ‘dressing-up’ but this should be in the realms of child’s-play and not crossed over into their everyday lives. Nor should we flaunt images to our children that put more value on looks and assets than talents and values. Indeed dressing children like little prostitutes (as in the case of Paisley Dickey) should be a criminal offence, it is quite frankly disgusting.
Please give children the most precious gift of all -childhood.
Picture of Princess Tiaamii taken from GMTV (link included)
