Mom-To-Be Enters Unborn Baby Into Beauty Pageant And Destroys My Faith In Humanity

Clearly, I have a problem with pageant moms. Not all of them. Just the ones who make it alarmingly clear that they are projecting all of their lost ambitions onto their poor children. Jenny Oliver – the 26-year-old mother-to-be who is entering her fetus in a beauty pageant – definitely qualifies as one of those women.

She’s entered her yet-to-be-born daughter into a pageant so she would be registered in time to compete when she is three months old.

She told The Sun:

”I’ve got a tiny pale pink and white dress in mind for Ella. She’s only going to be three months old but she’ll have a bit of fun on the day.
Walking down that catwalk with my gorgeous baby will make me feel a million dollars ”” even though I’ll still be carrying my baby weight and wearing daggy clothes.

I hope she wins ”” it would be fab to have a baby sash and crown to add to the collection. I have so much planned for her.”

Ugh. Where do I start? First of all, she’s not going to have a “bit of fun.” She’s going to be three months old. She’s not going to know what the hell is going on – or care. This is clearly all about your desire to prance down a catwalk. Well, you should have spent your life working your ass off to stay in shape and perfect the art of sequin wearing and make-up application. Pawning this off on your infant daughter is stupid.

I don’t have a problem with pageants if it’s what a child is into. I have a friend whose daughter has been obsessed with them for as long as I can remember. My friend hates it – but plays along because it’s what her daughter wants. Understanding that your child is her own being who should be allowed to blossom into what she is meant to be is one of the most important parts of parenthood, in my opinion. I don’t want to project any specific preferences or qualities onto my children. I want to nurture them and allow them to become who they are.

From the article, it seems Jenny’s eldest daughter really came into pageants on her own – and really loves them. I don’t fault her for allowing her daughter to explore that. But I’d like to gently remind her that all of our kids deserve the same opportunity – to carve out their own paths. Don’t birth a child in the shadow of her older sister, and assume she wants all of the same things.

Slow your roll, lady.

(photo: tomer turjeman/ Shutterstock)