Should Children Be Allowed to Compete on TV?

It kind of depends on the type of competition. If it is a talent show or singing/musical competition, they I’d whole-heartedley say Yes. Sports. Even cooking contests. Have you seen angry, shouter Gordon Ramsey dealing with kid chefs who are struggling or who are nervous? He turns into another person altogether. Anything else I do not think they should be doing.

I have seen beauty contests for pre-teens and kids at the age of 6 or 7. Uh-huh! No way Jose. Child beauty pageants are a big disgusting thing. You can find kids being treated like commodities, the contestants facing eating disorders & mental issues and being possibly preyed on as some of the contestants sexualizes the girls. Certain pageants encourage contestants to emulate grown women, applying heavy makeup to create full lips, long eyelashes, and flushed cheeks, wearing high heels and revealing “evening gowns”, and doing provocative dance steps, poses or facial expressions. Which is disgusting. You have sexual perverts who hang around these pageants and the girls are prime targets.

Otherwise I find it to be ok. However parents and other role models should be there to guide the kids in the right way. Disappointments galore, kids shouldn’t get dejected too much and use them more as a learning experience.

Prompt from 401 Prompts for Argumentative Writing at The New York Times