Child beauty pageants are exciting events for little kids and their parents. While the kids get to explore various fancy clothes and the feeling of being under the spotlight, the parents have fun helping their kids get ready. These events are fantastic bonding opportunities for the kids and their parents.

What are the Benefits of Beauty Pageants for Kids?

More and more schools now host a beauty pageant for the kids annually. Even smaller societies and communities host their own beauty pageant for the kids. Here are a few benefits of such events and why you should participate in one too.

·        Imbibe a Strong Sense of Confidence: Beauty pageants for kids are not meant to be competitive. Instead, they are fun little events in which every kid is empowered to flaunt his/her style. The act of participating in the beauty pageant itself will imbibe a lot of confidence into your kids’ character.

·         Inculcate a Fashion Sense: It is proven the kids who have a strong sense of fashion are often seen as budding individuals who can take the world head-on. The kids who dress well are often the ones who are most confident while appearing in public. They have a naturally confident posture and develop extremely proficient communication skills early in life.

·         Excellent Bonding Opportunities for the Parents and Kids: Lastly, the importance of beauty pageants lies in the bonding opportunity that they present.

If you are wondering how to become a beauty pageant, this small guide will help you with extremely nifty tips and tricks.

Focus on These 5 Things

When you are helping your little girl get ready for an upcoming beauty pageant, you can keep the following 5 things in mind. These 5 criteria will help you select an awesome dress for your baby girl.

·         Style

·         Comfort

·         Competition

·         Accessories

·         Design

Style

The market is filled with hundreds of different dressing options for little girls today. Some of the top kids’ clothing manufacturers have dedicated online stores to facilitate a seamless shopping experience for the parents. You can classify the style of a dress into one of the following types:

·         Indo-Western Apparel: Indo-Western apparel is a subtle blend of western and Indian cultures. These clothes act as the best of both worlds. Typically, the Indo-Western apparels are extremely stylish and trendy. Moreover, they are comfortable and require little to no maintenance.

The best Indo-western clothes are the ones that have subtle traditional elements like fine handmade embroidery. They form a seamless integration between the western and Indian cultures for a high-quality mix.

·         Western Apparel: If comfort and trendiness of the clothes are a priority for you, you cannot go wrong with the western apparel. Over the past couple of years, the diversity of western apparel has grown to a huge extent.

A pair of casual jeans and t-shirt looks great on kids.

·         Ethnic Apparel: If we had to choose one type of style that looks best on little girls, it would be ethnic. Girls look extremely pretty and regal in the ethnic apparel. Moreover, the ethnic apparel will help your girl stand out in the crowd that is full of girls wearing western or Indo-Western apparel.

The gorgeousness of the ethnic dresses is incomparable. In fact, they are timeless. Investment in a high-quality ethnic dress will easily reap a return for years to come. They will look fancy and provide a snug fit for at least a few years. The modern-day ethnic dresses for little girls have an adjustable length. Therefore, one can easily untie the inner seam of these dresses to help them grow a little taller.

·         Fancy Apparel: If you are feeling funky enough, you can always choose to go the extra mile and choose highly fancy apparel. The fancy apparel will ensure that your little girl looks completely different and bold compared to the crowd at the beauty pageant.

Comfort

The relevance of beauty pageants in our society lies in the act of expression. The best beauty pageants are the ones where your little kid can express himself/herself fully without the fear of judgement. Active participation in such events will undoubtedly raise your kids’ self-confidence.

The fit and finish of the style will also play a major role in the comfort levels of the dress. Therefore, you should always prefer a dress that rests easily on the skin of the kids. Your little girl will be more comfortable in clothes that offer a snug fit compared to the ones that are a little too tight or lose.

Kids cannot express themselves fully if they feel out of place and uncomfortable. It is important for parents, especially the ones with an extremely competitive spirit, to understand that the beauty pageants are supposed to be fun. They should encourage their kids to have fun and mingle with other kids.

Your kids can express themselves, make new friends, and have fun only when they are comfortable. So, getting a comfortable pair of clothes should be on the top of your priority list for the event. Most beauty pageants will end with a dance or a snack session. In such situations, your kid can enjoy freely if he/she is wearing comfortable clothes.

Competition

Depending on the rules of the competition, you might want to stick to a particular type of dress. For example, a few beauty pageants are organized strictly on traditional themes. In such situations, you need to help your kid get ready in Indo-Western or ethnic apparel.

You need to stay extra careful while selecting a pair of fancy clothes for your kids. After all, you do not want your kid to feel out of place. If your kid feels like the odd one out, he/she might not enjoy the event after all.

The kids who are dressed well often exude a whole new level of confidence in the way they interact with other people. Conventionally, beauty pageants are not only about who is the most well-dressed kid. In fact, it is more about who exudes the maximum confidence on stage. The well-dressed kids will naturally claim the space around them and feel confident in answering the questions asked by the judges.

Imbibe a lot of confidence in your baby girl right from the time you enrol her name into the competition. Do not let her feel inferior or superior in comparison to all the other kids at the event. Instead, encourage her to make more friends at the event.

Accessories

The accessories that you select with the dress for the beauty pageant holds a lot of importance too. The right accessories will help you accentuate the overall look and feel of the dress. They will add a whole new flair to the outfit of your kid. Therefore, whenever you go out for shopping, you should aim for a fashionable style that forms a part of a complete outfit. Instead of buying just a solo dress, shoes, or necklace, buy a whole outfit.

Typically, you can divide the wide range of accessories available in the market, into two different categories.

·         Functional Accessories: The functional accessories are the ones that not only look good but also offer a lot of added functionality to the outfit. For example, a waist belt is a functional accessory that will help you make the dress look more snug and fit.

·         Decorative Accessories: The decorative accessories are the ones that have the sole purpose of accentuating the overall look and feel of the dress. For example, a bracelet is a decorative accessory.

Ideally, you should have a good collection of both functional and decorative accessories in your kids’ cupboard. You should teach your kids how to effectively manage his/her outfit and create a different outfit by mixing and matching different accessories.

As a loving parent, you will often feel the urge to spend an extravagant amount on the dresses for your kids. You might feel the urge of getting carried away with several dresses and accessories. You should resist this urge as much as possible. Adopt a minimalistic attitude towards shopping. You can do so by focusing on quality over quantity. Instead of buying hundreds of low-quality accessories and dresses, focus on purchasing a handful of high-quality articles. The high-quality branded articles will last for a longer period and in turn, offer a better value on the investment.

Design

Do not go on a long shopping spree immediately after getting your kid enrolled for a child beauty pageant. Instead, study the prerequisites of the event and make a checklist of items that you need for it. After this, go through the cupboard of your baby girl to find the relevant items.

If you are an avid shopper, you will find that 50 to 70% dresses and accessories that you need for the child beauty pageant are already present in your child’s cupboard. Now, you can make a renewed list of items that you need to purchase. Performing this small activity can help you save a tonne of money while shopping for the pageant.

While selecting dresses for your baby girl, do not hesitate in going a little out of your conventional way. Kids have the freedom to experiment with their dresses much more than adults. Therefore, you can experiment with different designs and styles to help your little girl stand out in the crowd.

Before you take your little girl to the beauty pageant, make sure that you have a small pep talk with her. In this talk, highlight the fact that you are going to the event to have fun. Encourage your little girl to make new friends and enjoy during the event instead of focusing on getting the first prize. If you have a highly competitive spirit, ask your spouse to have the pep talk with her instead.

Remember, beauty pageants for kids are fun events that you can use to boost the confidence in your baby girl. Most beauty pageants for kids do not announce a singular winner and every child ends up winning one prize or the other. Even if your child does not win any prize in the end, teach her not to feel disheartened. Such occasions will help you build a spirit of sportsmanship in your little girl.