Child Stardom

[Daltonio]

What are your thoughts on child stars?

Is it ethical to put your child into the limelight and possibly take away their chance at ever having a normal life before they're able to make the decisions themselves?

Why do you think so many child stars end up with so many problems later in life?

I was a big fan of Aaron Carter, who recently passed away after years of serious drug problems, back when I was a kid. But back then I didn't really think about the fact that his debut album came out when he was NINE years old. Now that I'm an adult, I can see just how crazy that actually is, that he was pushed from *such* a young age, sometimes you just think that these kids never stood a chance. There is the other side of that story though, some like Macauley Culkin or Elijah Wood for example seem to have grown up pretty balanced.

 

[PGen98]

I think it's terrible to subject kids to stardom before they have a chance to know and understand life. I know everyone wants the glitz and glamour of fame (well...some of us sure don't!), but it's a double-edged sword and even the most well-intentioned parents that properly take care of their child's assets cannot protect them from the eventuality of those assets (unless they're awful people and use their kids' assets for themselves), and we've seen time and time again when child stars turn into when they get the spoils of their labour. It's rare that it works out well, so for the wellfare of children they shouldn't be able to become child stars. At all.

 

[MrDawn]

From the looks of it. It doesn't appear to have worked out well for most kids. A lot of them go insane, have emotional problems, become domestically violent, or turn to drugs. Just look at Edward Furlong and Amanda Bynes. They couldn't handle that kind of pressure.

 

[passenger]

Jon Benet Ramsey
Mothers who turn their cute five & six year old daughters into "beauty queen" sex symbols.

 

[MrDawn]

Jon Benet Ramsey
Mothers who turn their cute five & six year old daughters into "beauty queen" sex symbols.

My biggest problem with beauty pageants for little kids that age is that it makes them a target for pedophiles. The parents are dressing them like adults and that's just not appropriate to me.

 

[Gargamel]

Very few do make a comeback when they're adults which is quite sad. Most go into other jobs. It's awesome though that Macaulay Culkin is back though.

I hated the fan hate for Jake Lloyd who played Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.

Regardless of what people think of the role people need to realise these actors are still humans.

 

[MamaFrankie]

I'm not a fan of children but even I think this is wrong. They should not be allowed to do it until they are old enough to decide for themselves. Most of them turn out to be entitled spoilt brats. An exception is Jodie Foster.

 

[Reddington]

The ultimate issue is shitty celebrity parents who either

1. Have high expectations for their kid to achieve the same thing they did.
or.
2. Absolute failures who want to project the life they wanted onto their kids.

I'm with Frankie on this, I don't like kids at all, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that child stars shouldn't exist. Look at some of the child stars who were widely sexualized long before they were 18. Sexualized by the producers, the movie/show they were in, their parents, the media and random people. Look at that garbage dance moms show. You cannot look at some of the outfits they have those little girls wear and tell me it's completely innocent.

Kids should be able to live a normal, calm life without forced expectations of bad parents.