On a recent episode of “Toddlers and Tiaras,” 4-year-old Destiny Christian donned the stage in a Grease-themed costume, complete with a leather jacket–and a fake cigarette. This prop has sparked a lot of controversy for the TLC show, especially for the toddler’s mom, Lisa Christian.
Christian was interviewed on “Nancy Grace” where she explained her decision to include the cigarette in her daughter’s performance. “It’s just pretend, and a child with imagination is going somewhere. . . We just wanted her to be competitive with other girls,” said Christian.
While I can see that she was trying to recreate Sandy’s bad-girl transformation in Grease, it is not setting a good example for the 4-year-old girl or any of her fellow contestants. It could give the young, impressionable girls the idea that smoking is “hot” or “cool;” this could be the reason why an abundance of teens started smoking cigarettes in the first place.
Parents shouldn’t reinforce this socially and sexually connotated perception of tobacco products. These girls, and many teen smokers, are too young and naive to understand the health risks smoking poses to smokers.
Although the prop was realistic to the Grease scene, it was not necessary and should have been left out of the young girl’s costume.
Sources:
-http://www.hlntv.com/video/2012/09/12/toddlers-tiaras-tot-poses-cigarette