A mum who lets her four-year-old daughter wear make-up and her son wear high heels in beauty pageants insists she is not sexualising her children. Instead, she claims they’re more at risk from paedophiles on the beach.
Tiffany Coker, 28, from West Drayton, Middlesex, has defended her decision to allow her daughter, Crystal, four, to wear make-up and skimpy outfits and son Harvey, 11, to dress as ‘Dave’, the twerking businessman in high heels and shorts, from the MoneySuperMarket advert. She says: ‘Harvey’s costume was just a bit of fun. Pageants are just about dressing up and building children’s confidence.’ This is despite the controversial ad generating 1,513 complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority, with some viewers suggesting it was homophobic and could encourage hate crimes, making it the most-complained about commercial of 2016.
In 2017 alone, it’s received 455 complaints, making it the most complained advert of the year so far. Tiffany said: ‘My kids love doing pageants and dressing like ‘Dave’ was just a laugh. ‘Pageants are a very controlled environment. There is strict security, making them safe places, where people go to enjoy themselves. You have to pay to enter and have a kid with you. It’s all very above board.
Full-time mum Tiffany, who plans to take a job when Crystal turns five in March, introduced her children to the competitions after watching ‘Blinging Up Baby,’ on Channel 5, which took viewers behind the scenes of children’s pageants. The 28-year-old said: ‘I contacted a mum on Facebook who I’d seen on ‘Blinging Up Baby. She was lovely and told me all about pageants, what to do and how to get involved.’ Tiffany asked her mum, Evelyn Coker, 59. what she thought about pageants, initially thinking Crystal, who is already a keen dancer, could compete.

source: metro.co.uk