Raising a beautiful girl?

stephslinger

Hey guys, weird topic here!  Note this is not meaning to be a brag or sound however... 
Just been thinking about this subject in the day and age of the internet model obsession.p

So, my 14 m/o daughter is killing in the cute department.   Like no joke, people follow her around every where we go already (which I find disturbing and scary) and I've even been asked if we would let her be a baby model (damn kid is already more photogenic than me on my best day and a ham).  Her da is of russian heritage and she takes after him so much, so she looks like a doll.  So here's the thing...

I'm not sure if I should go ahead and let her become involved in all of that (modeling, pageant s, ect).  As a baby I was in baby paegents, my mom and sister modeled, and I was a total tomboy/nerd but ended up becoming a ptofessional athlete so they prettied me up and I did promo work and was under a spotlight.  Now I am far from beautiful myself, I was in good shape but thats all i had going for me and the pressure to look a certain way ate me alive (i am now again a sweats and mens tees kinda lady)  I have friends who are unspeakably gorgeous though.  My concern is I've seen how they were treated.  The good and bad.  How fake everyone was, the pressure they were under, how people tried to tear them down over looks, and well honestly how some only knew how to rely on their looks and skate by.  Plus it made them a target.

I would love for her to have the advantage of being extra attractive in life and know how to use her looks but don't want her to be consumed by it and the culture.  She already is developing her likes, she loves to ride ponies (naturally lol, ive ridden my entire life) and play with instruments/try to sing and dance.  I intend for her to be well rounded but the beauty stuff scares me.  Should I go ahead and let her do those other things too?  Let someone teach her?  Or should I keep her away from it?  Any thoughts on this topic in general would be great!  

Signed,
A kinda feminist 1st time mom

meggyme

Does she have any interest in doing it? Then put her in. If not, foster her other interests. She’ll grow up to look however she looks, but encouraging her to pursue her passions is more important.

Personally my girls won’t be doing any modeling/acting unless they show an interest in performing. I’d prefer they do sports, but that goes for any activity. I won’t be paying for it and dragging them to/from unless they’ve at least shown an interest in it.

Wishilivedinflorida

meggyme said:

Does she have any interest in doing it? Then put her in. If not, foster her other interests. She’ll grow up to look however she looks, but encouraging her to pursue her passions is more important.

Personally my girls won’t be doing any modeling/acting unless they show an interest in performing. I’d prefer they do sports, but that goes for any activity. I won’t be paying for it and dragging them to/from unless they’ve at least shown an interest in it.

This, but she’s also 14 months old, and I’m sorry, can’t express an interest in this yet. Slow down, enjoy your baby/toddler, and see what she is into these next few years. My 2.5 year old is just now developing interests that I can solidly identify (playing with trucks, art, and kicking a ball). I have a 12 month old that basically likes shoving things in her mouth and running around. There’s a huge difference. 

FWIW, my mom was approached about me modeling when I was a toddler, but she couldn’t afford headshots and an agent. I thank my lucky stars every day she didn’t pursue it more than that. I would have hated it down the road. Also, I grew up to have average features, nothing stunning by any means, and too curvy to be a model by today’s standards (not overweight, just average). I’m glad I pursued academic interests more because it’s what has carried me through life. I would have never lasted as a model. 

In the right setting, I find nothing wrong with modeling, performing, etc if the kid is interested and it’s not hampering their other interests and social development and learning. I don’t think there’s really a place for that in toddlerhood, though.