Make me a Model Junior

How do you feel about the use of child models in the fashion industry?

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Pageant Terror Arrives on our Shores

Following in similar footsteps to tv programs Masterchef, Big Brother and other recent reality TV shows, Make Me A Model has recently announced a sub-series entitled Make Me A Model Junior. The series is a contest for girls between the ages of 8 and 12 who aspire to be models. The announcement has met with an outcry from child psychologists, parents and companies who have likened the series to the child beauty pageant trend in America, and maintain it could have negative effects on our children.

Richard Warren, a former fashion model and judge on Search For A Celebrity denies that any such detrimental effects will occur. “It’s not like judges are going to be calling these kids fat or ugly”, he said. “It’s just a fun way to express their own style and learn about the world of hairstyling, makeup and fashion.” Competitiveness is a desirable quality in human beings which makes us strive to be better and this show will encourage this in our children.”

Charlene Grant, child psychologist from the Melbourne PMHI and a mother herself, explains how this could have devastating consequences on young minds. “If, for example, you don’t win the spelling contest or the soccer game, you can reflect on your experience and realise there are ways you can try harder and do better next time”, she said. “A child who loses in a beauty contest will simply go home and feel like they are not good enough. This can instigate low self esteem, eating disorders and other mental health problems later in life.

“We need to be lessening the importance of physical appearance for children especially, and creating role models who pride themselves on health, intelligence, work ethic and kindness.”

The series will air in late January 2013.