@Anon-e-moose #222820
Those contests are terrible, and all my friends agree, as did my parents and their friends.
The girls seem to be pushed to compete out of their mothers' frustration at not winning any beauty contests themselves. "My Sara Louise will win, and then everybody will admire ME for being the mother of a winner!"
It's expensive, too. Tens of thousands of dollars that could go to paying for college spent on costumes, photos, makeup, etc. The whole industry is crazy.