Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland children could be the next victims of an American-style beauty contest next year.

Universal Royalty plans to bring child pageants to New Zealand, despite protests over the competition running in Melbourne last month.

Around 80 contests entered in Melbourne, with contestants ranging from 11 months to 40 years old paying A$295 each to enter.

Texas-based pageant owner Annette Hill has been in the business for 25 years and told Stuff she rejects accusations the competitions objectify children.

"I think that's absolutely absurd. If you're looking at a kid in that type of way then something is wrong with you. What we saw was kids playing dress-up for a day – you should have seen the smiles. It was wonderful to see kids happy."

She says shows here would be similar to the Melbourne event.

However, it wouldn’t be quite as extreme as competitions in the United States, where children get spray tans and wear fake teeth.

Protests are in the pipelines and the New Zealand College of Psychiatrists believes pageants damage children’s mental health.