Glittery makeup on cherub like toddlers. Flashy cameras and grown men yelling "Work it baby!". Vain, self obsessed character traits. Inappropriate child beauty pageants.
photo courtesy of meme centre
These are the things that come to mind when I think about child modelling.
Child modelling is something that I never considered for my little one. As a teacher mama, the idea was particularly repulsive as an innocent child model and the fame hungry mother isn't something that I envisioned for my family. I'd rather my child to have characters more akin of one who is humble, kind, quietly intelligent and strong. But does it have to be one or the other? Should I be making such quick judgments on the industry as so utterly "low brow"?
I found myself considering the prospect of it today, after seeing my child twirling around happily in an H&M change room.
After speaking to all important members of the immediate family, it seems like everyone is keen and gave me the go-ahead for a closer inspection.
I read various opinions on parenting forums (most of them very negative) and for a while I was a little disheartened before I got even started. Some of the cons include:
- Most agencies are out to get your money, there is a saying that "modelling agencies are the only ones in the business GUARANTEED to earn money"
- It is incredibly tiring on your child
- The profits made in one year's work rarely outweighs the travel costs, time and admin fees
- Is it really the best chosen "hobby" or "mother-child" bonding activity one could choose?
- A lack of freedom to allow you child to grow up naturally
And this article from Mamamia was a pretty sobering read, a real insight into the child entertainment industry.
The mother/author of the article, Eden Strong, mentioned that casting involved a long process including a test shoot:
A test shoot basically included a bunch of hopeful mothers and their dressed-up, overtired children cramming into a small room where no one is allowed to to eat with their clothes on, touch their hair, touch each other, move from their chairs, or act like the children that they were.
Fun times. Not.
And the lack of community, unlike #steemit here (wink, wink) sounds pretty awful:
To make matters worse, the other mothers didn’t view you as a potential friend whose child was in the same activity as theirs, they viewed you as competition. They didn’t want to like you. They wanted to see your child fail so that theirs could succeed. So not only was I trapped in a small room with a bunch of grouchy children, I was trapped in a small room with a bunch of grouchy children and their glaring mothers.
And yet everywhere I read, the child entertainment industry seem to be a highly competitive one. That means, despite all the above, parents are still signing up their kids for it...
It seems like you never know until you give it a try.
Many agencies have a yearly management fee around $500, non-refundable, and no guarantee of work. But I was able to find one that only charges when a job is booked.
So parents out there, what do you think? Is child-modelling a dirty word? Are we as parents raising vain and superficial kids if we say yes to child modelling? Have you ever had experience in this industry? I'd love to hear from you!