"It gives her confidence"

Gaining poise and confidence is cited most often by parents as the reason for putting their child into these contests. "She learns skills such as going out in a crowd, not to be shy, and to be herself while people are watching and focusing on her," one mother noted.

"You see this a lot among people on the lower-income and education scales," Levey comments. "They want their kids to learn skills that are needed to move up the social scale."

One mother put it this way: "I want my child to be aware that there’s always going to be somebody better than her. It’s a hard thing to learn – it was for me – and I want her to start early."