Innocence at Risk Beauty pageants have been around since the 1920s, and beauty pageants for children began in the 1960s. There are different age classes ranging from 0 to 18 years. Children are encouraged by parents to participate in these competitions which are expected to boost self-esteem, public speaking skills and confidence. In reality these competitions cause great harm to these innocent children and do exactly the opposite. Parents don't realize that they are putting their children's health at risk. Children under the age of eighteen should not be allowed to participate in beauty pageants. This competition among young people causes negative consequences on physical, social, psychological and sexual health. For starters, beauty pageants cause physical consequences in young participants. These children are subjected to hours of testing. They don't have regular activities for children. Once they start participating in these competitions their lives change. These little girls have to undergo several physical changes. One is to tan with a chemical called DHA. The FDA recommends avoiding contact between DHA and mucous membranes such as the eyes, nose, and mouth. In fact, simply inhaling the chemical can cause coughing, dizziness, fainting or skin rashes (Lieberman 755). Despite these warnings, adults continue to tan their children so they can have a chance at winning these competitions. On the show “Toddlers and Tiara's” a coach told the mother that for her daughter to have even a slight chance of winning she would have to get a spray tan. The first thing the judges look at is the physical appearance of the participants, so this makes parents and children aware of their physique. The girl must fit perfectly in... half of the paper... yes, MO). 24 February 1997: np SIRS Researcher. Network. April 17, 2011.Eubanks, Andrea. “Youth beauty pageants: beautiful children, ugly parents”. The Collegian. February 22, 2000. University of Tulsa. Network. April 18, 2011.Hunter, Nicole. “Effects of Beauty Pageants.” Write. 2007. Network. 18 April 2011."Children on the catwalk?" Current Events, Weekly Reader publication, February 24, 1997: 3. Gale Opposing Views in Context. Network. April 18, 2011.Lieberman, Lindsay. “PROTECTION OF BEAUTY PAGEANT PRINCESSES: A CALL FOR THE LEGAL REGULATION OF CHILDREN'S BEAUTY PAGETS.” Journal of Law and Politics 18.2 (2010): 739-774. Academic research completed. EBSCO. Network. April 17, 2011. Reed, Billy. “Children's beauty pageants should be eliminated.” Billy Reed says (August 28, 2006). Rpt. in beauty pageants. Ed. Noël Merino. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2010. In question. Gale Opposing views in context. Network. April 17. 2011.