From a small hobby farm in regional New South Wales, 11-year-old Nevaeh-Lea Benton has claimed an international crown.<\/p>\n
The bubbly primary school student from Jindera, near Albury, has been competing in beauty pageants since she was six.<\/p>\n
She flew to the Philippines this month to take on 19 girls from nine countries for the title of Little Miss Universe.<\/p>\n
Nevaeh-Lea won the crown after a week of photo shoots, national costume, resort wear, evening gown, talent and interview rounds.<\/p>\n
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The Little Miss Universe pageant was hosted in Manila.<\/p>\n
\u00a0 (Supplied: Bonnie Smith)<\/p>\n
“Nevaeh-Lea’s public speaking has become amazing \u2026 the way she held herself in front of the seven judges \u2026 I was quite impressed for an 11-year-old,” her mother, Bonnie Smith, said.<\/p>\n
Four of Ms Smith’s kids are involved in pageants, including two of her sons, who are set to compete in their first pageant this weekend.<\/p>\n
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Nine countries competed in the Little Miss Universe pageant. (Supplied: Bonnie Smith)<\/p>\n
Ms Smith said she was relieved to learn Australian pageants were nothing like the highly publicised American counterparts.<\/p>\n
“I was thinking it was going to be fake tans, fake teeth, [and] hair extensions,” she said.<\/p>\n
“But the Australian community is completely different and not so much for all of that stuff \u2014 you actually get marked down in Australia if you do those things.”<\/p>\n
Concerns for young competitors<\/p>\n
Clinical psychologist Ben Buchanan said parents should approach children’s involvement in pageants with caution.<\/p>\n
“Young brains are still developing and what we choose to pay attention to when we’re young goes about creating our view of what’s important,” Dr Buchanan said.<\/p>\n
Dr Buchanan said pageants could be an opportunity to foster confidence, but the comparisons drawn between competitions could also cause harm.<\/p>\n
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Ben Buchanan says parents should watch for children making repeated negative comparisons. (Supplied: Ben Buchanan)<\/p>\n
“Comparison, we know, can be extremely harmful to mental health and and set some pre-conditions for people to develop things like body dysmorphic disorder, which is a clinical condition that can manifest as extreme anxiety around appearance,” Dr Buchanan said.<\/p>\n
To encourage self-esteem and a strong sense of self, Dr Buchanan said parents should reinforce a positive self-image that was independent of physical appearance or comparison to others.<\/p>\n
“Often parents will make the mistake of reassuring their child they are beautiful, you are good looking \u2026 that can actually be a mistake because it’s reinforcing the fact that being beautiful is the most important thing,” he said.<\/p>\n
“Draw the young persons’ attention to the other things that make them valuable that is not in comparison to other people.”<\/p>\n
Nevaeh-Lea spoke in public as a part of the pageant. (Supplied: Bonnie Smith)<\/p>\n
Platform for change<\/p>\n
Pageantry came much later for Jessica Lane, and with immediate success.<\/p>\n
She entered her first competition at 22 and was crowned Miss Earth Australia for 2024.<\/p>\n
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Jessica Lane is embraced after being named Miss Earth 2024. (Supplied: Jessica Lane)<\/p>\n
Her social media following surged from about 1,000 to 20,000 in the days after and gave her a platform to promote environmental advocacy.<\/p>\n
“In my limited time with this title \u2026 I’ve had the incredible opportunity of speaking to young people all over the world and motivating them to create environmental differences in their own community,” she said.<\/p>\n
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Ms Lane began volunteering at Australia Zoo when she was eight. (Supplied: Jessica Lane)<\/p>\n
Ms Lane has campaigned against fast fashion.<\/p>\n
She said her pageant outfits were rented, second-hand, or made from sustainable materials.<\/p>\n