If your little diva is itching to be in a beauty pageant, there are many things you need to consider before filling out that entry form and sending in the entry fee. Beauty pageants - even small local ones - are often highly competitive. National winners sometimes use local pageants as practice sessions. Also, pageants are not cheap when you include everything you'll need in order to be competitive.

Think of your first pageant as a trial run. You'll get an idea of whether or not your daughter still wants to do beauty pageants after she's actually experienced one. You could luck up and actually win your first pageant, but the odds are not on your side, especially if you're competing against seasoned girls.

Before your little girl's first beauty pageant, build up the excitement. Play up the fun. She doesn't even need to understand that she's actually competing against others. You don't want to put any pressure on her. The main thing you want her to do is to have a good time.

For small children, stage personality is very important. If the judges see that she's having fun, she'll get a higher score. Let her be a little silly on stage if she wants. Some natural silliness is better than a stiff, robotic performance. I've seen personality beat natural beauty and gorgeous dresses!

There's usually a lot of wait time backstage, so be sure to take things to entertain your little girl. Story books, hand-held video games, and coloring books and crayons are all good ideas. DO NOT take markers. She'll end up with marks on her hands and arms.

Rent or borrow a dress for your first pageant. There's no need to plop down $1,000 or so for a drop-dead dress until you know that beauty pageants are something you and your daughter want to continue doing. If you don't want to rent a dress, purchase a non-glitz dress on ebay and stone it yourself. We did this for our first pageant, and we not only won prettiest dress, we also won the pageant - over numerous seasoned girls! I have a link below to my article on stoning a dress, along with some great deals on Swarovski stones you'll need.

For shoes, you'll need plain white Mary Janes with a matte finish - not shiny patent leather. You'll need white socks with a couple of layers of lace, but don't get the ones that have numerous lacy layers. You don't want your DD (darling daughter) to end up looking like a poodle. You might want to add just a FEW small Swarovski stones to the socks.

For hair, you can use an updo or have her wear it long. Most of all, her hair must look neat. The can of hairspray is your friend! If you decide on an updo, tease the top a little and have a strand of hair framing her face. If her hair is fairly short, pull it up to her crown and secure it with a rubber band. Around the pony tail, place one of those scrunchies with curls. These are available at wig supply stores for just a few bucks - a lot cheaper than a real wiglet, and they'll be fine for a first pageant. If your DD wears her hair down, pull it back from her face. You can curl it into ringlets, or simply turn the ends under. No matter which style you use, you'll need to add a hairbow that matches the dress. Don't go overboard with the bow. You don't want it to distract the judges from looking at your DD's face, but you do want to add a few Swaroski stones to the bow.

Do not put her dress on her until almost the last minute. There are just too many things that can happen. She'll need a button-down shirt to wear backstage so it won't have to go over her head and mess up her hair. Just before she walks out on stage, "fluff up" the skirt portion of her dress and look for any dangling strings.

If you're in a lineup for the prettiest smile optional, there's a trick I used that very often worked. Kneel directly behind your daughter and whisper something funny to her. Lightly tickle the back of her neck, too. She'll likely respond with a full natural smile that the judges will love.

Having a partner in the audience is a good strategy, also. Have him or her sit directly behind the judges, several rows back, holding up a hand puppet. This will get your DD to look in the direction of the judges and will help elicit a natural smile.

For a first pageant, walk out on stage with your little girl. You'll probably lose points if she's over four or five, but that doesn't matter. Remember, you're not really trying to win this one. You're just testing the waters.

Most beauty pageants give a small trophy or some other token just for participation. If your DD doesn't win one of the big trophies or crowns, make a fuss over her participation award. Display it proudly in her room. This will give her a feeling of accomplishment and will add a boost to her confidence.

Read the articles below for more about pageants.