Hi °C | Lo °C THE mother of a little Dublin girl who was crowned Leinster's Supreme Beauty Queen says she will not allow her daughter to participate in a controversial child beauty pageant planned for Ireland.
The organisers claimed that hotels here have been scrambling to host the first Universal Royal Pageant which has created a storm with calls for it to be banned on child protection grounds.
But Ballymun native Linda Lambert says she will not be putting her daughter Katie forward if it does come here in November.
Four-year-old Katie has won three out of four Irish pageants this year, winning toys, accessories and clothes.
Controversy
"I can't believe there's so much controversy and that people are comparing them to the American ones. The only comparison is that they all get crowned at the end, nothing else is the same," Linda told the Herald.
"In the American pageants, the children are competing for money but in Ireland they get bracelets, clothes and teddy bears as prizes.
"The American one is aimed at the Toddlers and Tiaras-type of thing but the Irish ones are great. They're so well organised and they're a fun day out. She loves going to them."
The US group has confirmed their plans to come here in November after they said more than 300 Irish parents wrote to the organisers, asking them to hold an event here.
But Linda, who signed Katie up to the Star4Now agency, says her aim for her daughter is for her to eventually model for fashion catalogues.
Katie chooses her own party cocktail dresses from Ebay for around €30, and doesn't wear make-up, fake tan or accessories.
"They're not allowed to wear bikinis, they don't have to do an act or dance or speak on stage. It's like a fashion catwalk.
"They play around for the day, and they hold hands walking up and down the stage so there's no competition. No child goes home without a prize."
hnews@herald.ie
