You go to the ball games and the moms and dads will be in the stands going 'Get 'em, get 'em, get 'em'… To me it's no different than us coaching our girls."īut judge Kathy Petty says sometimes the parents go too far. "I seem to get a little too much into it sometimes and don't even realize I'm doing it.
"You just get so caught up in it," Wood said. If you looked on the sidelines it was clear that the parents had done some practicing of their own, encouraging their children to smile and miming the words and movements of their routines. The first day of the pageant was the talent portion, for which the children practice up to 15 hours a week. … If you have a child you know that they have moments." "They're going to have bad days, and that has nothing to do with pageants. "Just like any other 3- or 4- or 5-year-old little girl or little boy, they're going to have tantrums," Wood said. "It takes her mind off whatever, if she's tired of sitting or not real focused."īut even the puppets can't prevent the tantrums that are normal for children her age. Hand puppets that Eden plays with when she needs to be distracted "definitely help," her mom said. That's a lot of pressure for a 4-year-old like Eden, whom Mickie Wood calls her "little diva," but she has a secret weapon for stressful situations. "You're looking at a beautiful baby doll, which is Eden, and you're looking at Tarylin, which is a top-notch bubbly professional." "It's a very hard competition, very stressful, and I think both contestants have their game faces on, but it's going to be tough," she said. … Why can't I spend it on my child if that's what I want to do?"īefore the pageant started, Hill said the two were "running neck and neck." We work and we have our money in the bank. But there's no telling how much we have invested in my child's future in every aspect, in all the lessons of the different things she's involved in.
#JUNIOR MISS PAGEANT 2000 PROFESSIONAL#
Wood said she can afford the $70,000 she's spent on necessities for Eden, such as professional photos, spray tanning, coaching and $3,000 dresses. It's estimated that 250,000 children compete in more than 5,000 pageants in the United States each year, and pageant officials admit some families have gone into debt, even paying entry fees before paying the rent. She said she's committed to giving her child the best possible chance to shine.īut being the best doesn't come cheap. When asked which one is her favorite, Eden pointed to one crown and said, "This one, because it's so big."įor Eden's mother, Mickie Wood, a former beauty queen herself, pageants have become a full-time job.
#JUNIOR MISS PAGEANT 2000 FULL#
The Wood's home is full of hundreds of trophies and crowns. When ABC News visited Eden last month in her small Arkansas town, it was obvious she'd found her calling. and CLICK HERE to see more of Eden Wood's pageant photos. ET and Thursday on "Good Morning America" at 7 a.m. Watch the story tonight on "Nightline" at 11:35 p.m.