Children in entertainment.

[CottonBolus]

This is exactly what the modeling industry and people who hire children as actors/actresses do. People who actively try to get their children on television. What is your opinion of them? I personally would advise against it. I've noticed that people who grew up in the spotlight like Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, Britney Spears, and Charlotte Church...the guy from home alone...they all grew up not quite right in the head. The entertainment industry is not a good environment to raise children. What is your opinion?





And many of the people in the entertainment industry are quite predatory.

[oakpope]

Counterpoint : the kids from Harry Potter seem to do alright. Guess it depends heavily on their surrounding adults.

[Corny]

^ They had roles as serious actors. Not in toddlers and tiaras ..

[HunterM]

If my kids are cute and adorable...HELL YES! I would put them in front of the camera. Papa needs retirement funds!

[quasar]

We also have strict laws here in the UK entertainment industry now regarding the number of hours that minors are permitted to work. Some of the more recent legislation was as a result of the Harry Potter films. Used to cause us nightmares at panto time!

[thatgirl]

It is not something I'd allow my children to do if I were to become a parent.

But if some kids feel really passionate about it, I can understand why their parents would want to let them follow their interests. But they would need a lot of structure and strict parenting in order to prevent them from becoming too wrapped up in all of the attention (which would probably lead to a warped sense of reality). Often, it seems like the parents themselves get carried away by the fame and they either don't set enough boundaries for their celebrity children or they exploit them.

[gsdx]

I think it depends upon the swiftness of the success. Mary-Kate and Ashley and Macaulay Culkin were thrust into the spotlight and then they grew up. The same thing happened to Shirley Temple. I don't know Britney's story, but the same thing is likely to happen to Justin Bieber. If Charlotte Church had stuck with classical singing, she would still be popular. I think she was hoping her fans would follow her.

It doesn't always happen, though. Ron Howard came out of it quite well.

[CottonBolus]

I think it depends upon the swiftness of the success. Mary-Kate and Ashley and Macaulay Culkin were thrust into the spotlight and then they grew up. The same thing happened to Shirley Temple. I don't know Britney's story, but the same thing is likely to happen to Justin Bieber. If Charlotte Church had stuck with classical singing, she would still be popular. I think she was hoping her fans would follow her.

It doesn't always happen, though. Ron Howard came out of it quite well.

Re:"If Charlotte Church had stuck with classical singing, she would still be popular. I think she was hoping her fans would follow her."

Poor Charlotte Church, I think being talented and being famous at such a young age really got to her head. She's really wrecked her career, now that she's fully grown up and gone through that "crazy" period, it's too late. I suppose every teenager would want to go into pop, but it was really a poor decision, and quite frankly she was kind of bad at it. She's one of the best examples why it is not good to put children in the spotlight.

[CottonBolus]

Counterpoint : the kids from Harry Potter seem to do alright. Guess it depends heavily on their surrounding adults.

But Daniel Radcliffe is British; I heard that the Brits treat celebrities than Americans; there is less worship going on there than in the U.S. so I think they are more likely less mentally damaged.

[rareboy]

All I can say is...

God help Honey Boo Boo.

She's already an emotional mess and her looks are gone.

[Hard-up1]

Whatever happened to Baby Jane?