I spent £2,500 entering my child into beauty pageants – trolls, I’m traumatising her

A beauty pageant mum who spends £2,500 a year on competitions and clothes says she doesn’t care when other parents put her down.

Catherine Oliver’s five-year-old daughter Ava has been competing in beauty pageants since she was 15 months old.

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The 32-year-old mother from Ruthin, Walesis currently preparing her daughter for the finals of Miss Beauty United Kingdom.

But it’s not all roses and sunshine for the family, who are also dealing with anger and accusations from other parents.

“I entered Ava into the Prestatyn Carnival Baby of the Year competition when she was just 11 months old and she won,” said Catherine.

“We are now travelling all over the UK and are currently preparing for her exams in September.

“As long as you have that sash on and you show up, it counts.

Catherine, Ava’s mother

“Ava has had negative reactions from some parents.

“When she was about three years old, she was accused of fighting with a child, pulling her hair and calling her names.

“Then they talked about Ava being traumatized [because we put her in pageants] and all that.

“Some people can be very aggressive and just aren’t very Nice.

“You have to take the good with the bad, you really have to.

“I’m proud of her.”

The preparations for the competitions are quite intensive, with daily training sessions.

The mother said, “We practice every day.

“It’s quite stressful when you have to get up at 6am when you have a long drive ahead of you.

“Ava wears her clothes at night.

“You have a stage, all the lights, the cameras – all the professional photographers taking the pictures.

“She just picked out a new set of outfits.

“I have a lady who makes all of Ava’s dresses: from measuring to making them herself.

“At the moment it costs me and her dad about £200 for outfits, but if you want something with more rhinestones it can cost between £200 and £2,000.

“As long as you have that sash on and you show up, it counts.

“World elections are definitely a hobby.”

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It can be expensive to put everything together.

In addition to the cost of the dress, the family also pays the entrance fee to the beauty pageant, and hotel and gas costs.

She said, “Ava [also] does a lot for charitylots of hospital supplies.

“At one point she was competing in two beauty pageants every weekend.

“But for her it’s a lot of pasting, pasting and writing.

“For the finals her entry costs £60.

“You have the hotel and that comes with additional costs.

“Then there are the petrol and charity races – which can cost up to £40 per entrant.

“I mean with all those dresses and everything [we spend] up to £2,500 per year.

“This includes hotels and everything else. It all adds up.”