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Over the years, I have seen and heard about these so-called child beauty and talent contests. Parents are just pulling out all the stops to see that their precious little kids become the next Britney Spears, J Lo, or Miss America; as well as live the life of one; even if it means pushing and abusing them too far. They are not letting their kids live normal lives, and to just simply be kids. They are pushing them into grown-up responsibilities way too soon. They are not listening to their kids when they (the kids) say enough is enough. They refuse to listen to anyone who tells them to stop exploiting their kids, and act like a bunch of crybabies if their "precious little darlings" lose. They want their kids to live the fast and glamorous life of show business; the life of fame and fortune; lights, camera, and action. And now, you've got the TLC reality show, Toddlers and Tiaras, doing the same thing.

Whenever I see this, I just want to reach out and give these parents of piece of my mind. They need to know that fame and fortune don't buy happiness. How many times have you heard the very sad and tragic stories of some of these former child stars? They have been cast aside and rejected by Hollywood as they got older, typecast, as well as having gotten into drugs and alcohol and trouble with the law. They ruin their lives, and even die at such a young age. We all know about the sad saga of Michael Jackson; how he and his brothers were both physically and verbally abused by their father when they were growing up; became stars at such a young age, with four number one hits all within the same year. We also know about the Different Strokes kids; who all got into trouble with the law, drugs and alcohol. (One of them, Dana Plato, who played Kimberly Drummond on the show; died at the age 0f 34 back in May of '99. She was on drugs, robbed a Las Vegas video store, and she even forged written drug prescriptions.)

And let's not forget Jay North, who was Dennis the Menace on television. He was not that happy-go-lucky kid that you saw on TV. He was verbally and physically abused by his aunt and uncle who were his studio guardians. His uncle took him to see the movie Village of the Damned (the 1960 version). He had psychological problems, and he had counseling for them. He drew pictures of the Dennis the Menace crew in guillotines. He was cast aside and rejected by Hollywood when he was 19. He became fantasized with serial killers. He wanted to go back to the Dennis the Menace

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