I've always thought that beauty pageants are so weird. These moms are basically forcing their kids into them and trying to live vicariously through their kids winning pageants.
probably the same as fathers pushing their sons into sports
Eh it's a little weirder than sports. They make kids wear tons of makeup, fake teeth, and often times very provocative and inappropriate outfits for their ages.
fake teeth? they actually use fake teeth?
Yeah it looks bizarre. They're little kids and they're getting spray tanning and waxing done for these pageants to the point that with all the makeup they don't even look like themselves.
it seems like there should be some rules that limit make-up and tanning 
I definitely agree with that, honestly I feel like there should be strict rules on them as far as sexualizing little kids goes, since they're pretty much always younger than 16 years of age.
these kid's pageants, who do they appeal to? an audience or just the parents involved
History.
Beauty pageants started in 1921 when the owner of an Atlantic City hotel struck upon the idea to help boost tourism. However, that idea had already circulated through ""Most Beautiful Child"" contests held in major cities across the country. The Little Miss America pageant began in the 1960s at Palisades Amusement Park in New Jersey. Originally, it was for young people from 13 to 17 years old, but by 1964 there were over 35,000 participants, which prompted an age division. The modern child beauty
glamour school and others like it have been around for over 45 years in Venezuela.There is a culture of beauty ingrained in Venezuela perspectives, so little kids constantly see the beauty pageants and the winners and they want to be in it.
Training for beauty pageants Beauty bootcamps in the Philippines.
Beauty pageants are popular for females throughout the Philippines. Philippine women enter pageants hoping to win, ultimately leading to luxury living. Contestants prepare for pageants through attending training and bootcamps. Individuals competing in pageants used to go to Venezuela