Madison Wren (Pic: Alan Peebles)
Child beauty queen Madison
Children as young as TWO are to paraded on the catwalk at a mini “Miss World” contest.
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Nursery-age toddlers and primary school girls will be judged on their looks and ­personality in the pageant, which has been condemned by child welfare campaigners as ­“damaging, harmful and ­unwelcome”.
The Mini Miss International competition will see girls ­modelling outfits in formal, sportswear and fashion ­categories.
News of the pageant, to be held in London in October, comes amid mounting concern over the sexualisation and ­commercial- isation of young children.
Pam Boon (Pic: BBC)
Lucie Russell, of children’s mental health charity Young Minds, said: “This contest may well have a detrimental effect on the young girls involved.
“But on a wider level it also sends out a dangerous message to other children that appearance is all that matters.”
And Michael Connellan, of the Family and Parenting ­Institute, added: “Childhood must be ­defended. Parents don’t want their children experiencing too much too young.”
Girls will model outfits in formal, sportswear and fashion categories during the contest.
Toddlers under five in the “baby beautiful” section will be dressed up in party frocks and carried or walked down the catwalk by their mums.
A boys’ contest called Little Man International is to be held alongside the girls’ show.
Organiser Pam Boon insisted: “This is a hobby, it’s having fun. It’s about children enjoying themselves.”
Contestants pay up to £100 to enter the ­contest, and prizes include a Nintendo Wii ­games console and shopping vouchers.
There was outrage last week when a beauty ­parlour for children was launched in Brentwood – where TV reality show The Only Way Is Essex is filmed.
It came after a Mothers’ Union report on the sexualisation of children urged a crackdown on suggestive clothes like padded bras for young girls.
Former Miss Commonwealth India Ms Boon, 50, insisted her ­pageant will be “age appropriate” and that girls will not have to wear heavy make-up.
The mum-of-four, from ­Colchester, Essex, said: “A lot of them don’t need mascara. People love to show off their children.”
Shadow health and social care minister Emily Thornberry said: “It’s unfortunate. Girls should be doing better things with their time than putting on lipstick and wearing high heels at age four.”