Why You Should Never Watch an Episode of Dance Moms Ever Again

Dance Moms

Dance Moms: Turning perfectly normal little girls into raging monsters who will grow up to turn into their mothers – and that is not a good thing. If there is one thing worse than a little girl who is forced to wake up every morning and put on a face full of makeup and do things that no child she ever be forced to do, it’s their mothers. Dance moms in general, not just the ones on the hit reality television show, are kind of scary women. They are the kind of women who do things that I, as a mother of three little girls and a little boy, would never, ever consider asking my kids to do or allowing them to do at any point in their lives.

Growing up, I was not allowed to wear makeup until I got my driver’s license. I had chapstick – and I still wear it religiously to this day. I was a cheerleader. I didn’t wear makeup. We curled our cheer ponytails and that was as dressed up as we got. We were not encouraged to wear makeup. Friends that dancers did not wear makeup, either. You know what we did? We focused on making good grades, behaving and practicing our sports. We did not have cell phones, and twerking was not a thing. In fact, when we school danced it up with our friends, it was at arm’s length (or so my mother thought).

Dance moms from television are a different breed. They’re gross; and this show is gross. There is nothing, absolutely nothing, good about this reality television show, and it’s only doing more harm to little girls than it is good. Ratings aside, this show is teaching our youth things that aren’t something many of us are comfortable with. That said, here are the reasons I advise you never to watch Dance Moms ever again.

Adolescent Girls in Makeup

Dance Moms is actually not the worst show on television when it comes to little girls in makeup. That honor goes to the show on which little girls compete in beauty pageants in hopes of winning…what? I think we can all agree these kids are not the next Miss America. They’re probably the next misdemeanor when they’re of age, if we are being honest. There is nothing, nothing, that is even remotely adorable, cute or normal about sticking a toddler in a face full of makeup, fake hair and clothes that are showing off their baby bodies. It’s disgusting, and probably the reason that so many kids grow up with issues. When I see a toddler in makeup – or anyone not yet a teenager for that matter – it makes me cringe. It makes me cringe even more when it’s their mothers encouraging this.

“Hey, sweet baby of mine who isn’t even old enough for school, yet. Let me just put on a face full of makeup and give you hair extensions and stick you in a tanning bed so you’re so pretty. You’re three and my example is that you’re not pretty enough or good enough as you are and looks are every single thing that is important in the world,” is what moms like this are saying to their little girls. And then they grow up into the kids that are on Dance Moms. Gross.

Adolescent Girls in Barely There Clothing

I’m all about comfort and ease of movement, but at what point did dressing little girls like strippers become the norm? I love a sparkly dance costume as much as the next person, but let’s be honest; these are disgustingly barely-there, and they are showing off far too much for a girl this age. In fact, if a stripper would consider it for a second, a child should never wear it. Dance Moms only encourages these trashy costumes.

The Sia Music Video

The little girl from Dance Moms that recently starred alongside Shia LeBouf in Sia’s music video; what was her mother thinking? That little girl is 12 and she was up close and very personal, in nothing, dressed to look nude, with a man more than twice her age also dressed to look nude. The way he touched her in the video at times was…disturbing. Her mother, a dance mom, allowed this. It’s not all right.

The Lack of Respect

I’m all about making sure that kids are responsible for their actions and their own lives. If a child takes on something like dance, they need to practice. Dance Moms has that right; but not the way that it’s executed. The mothers are the first to tell their young daughters that they are prettier or skinnier or better than other girls, and their coach is the first one to tell them they suck or that they are awful when they don’t do something correct. These are kids who need to learn to make mistakes, improve their craft and learn from these experiences. They are not yet equipped, at 10, 12, whatever, to hear other dance moms tell them they are not good enough or pretty enough, or a grown woman tell them that they are a disappointment. They can’t handle it. They shouldn’t have to handle it.

The Encouragement of Adolescent Sexualization

So much of Dance Moms is too hyper sexual for the rest of the world. The movements, the clothing, the makeup on little girls; it’s not all right and that, by itself, is reason enough to stop watching this show now. It’s sexualizing little girls, and that is so not all right in any way.

The Lack of Good Sportsmanship

Participation trophies are crap. No one should get them. Winning is good; it’s what we want to do. It’s good to be a winner. However, it’s also important that we all learn to be good sports. Instead of being rude and hateful when we lose something, how about dance moms from this show teach their kids that this means they need to work harder and do better? How about allowing these kids to learn from their mistakes and fix them? Why tell them that other coaches are cheaters or that judges are morons? It’s just disgusting; all of it.

Photo by Getty Images

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