It seemed that many "Toddlers & Tiaras" viewers had issues with the parents being too involved in the series. Mothers would stand to the side of the stage or behind the judges and dance their daughters' routines right along with them. Sometimes they'd get extremely upset when their child didn't place high enough. While that certainly didn't appear healthy for the children, obviously, it also was annoying to watch for those at home.
Family therapist Terry Real told ABC News that the parents on "Toddlers & Tiaras" were a big problem, and viewers apparently agreed. "The parents are exploiting their own children for the sake of increasing the parent's self-esteem. Shame on them," one person shared. "These parents need to stop living their lives through their children," another added.
But what made the show even harder to watch, which could have led to its cancelation, was that the parents didn't see any problem being over-involved. "You get so into it you don't even realize that you're up doing it. It's just ... being a proud parent," one "Toddlers & Tiaras" mother Mickie Wood told ABC News. This lack of self-awareness from the show's parents probably made for a frustrating reality TV watching experience, that's for sure.
