How to Raise a Child Star
By: Judith Mutua
Posted on Thursday, February 27, 2020
The first rule of parenting: Everyone thinks their child is a superstar.
But if that is actually true, and you do have a unique talent living under your roof, then watch out. You have to start thinking about how to develop that talent, how to support their career, and how to pay for it all.
Child-star – These are young children who have shown special gifting or abilities from a very young age; could be music, singing, athletics, and consequently means that they will draw a huge following/fan base and that automatically makes them celebrities or stars.
With all this celebrity status, if not handled well, the kids are likely to falter away.
Child psychologist Elmard Rigan sat down with Christine Kasina from Switch TV, in Today’s Parent, to discuss what to do – and what not to do – when your kid is about to take over the world.
Q: Everyone thinks their kid is talented. How do you know if they are really something special?
A: Talent is not enough. There has to be an ‘It Factor’, which breaks through in a competitive market. And they have to be a self-starter, to be prepared and responsible enough to rehearse without parents having to badger them. Those are the things you are looking for.
Q: What if the parent feels the need to suppress the ability?
A: The worst you can do to such a child, is to suppress it. As Albert Einstein tells us “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” So you are doing disservice to that child and consequently to you as a parent. The best you can do is to nurture it.
Q: If a child starts getting offers, what should parents look out for?
A: Parents are so flattered that they don’t think clearly. So they should sit down with a third party, preferably a professional in the field, to explain and negotiate it.
Q: What costs can a parent expect it in developing their child’s career?
A: The biggest cost is in training, like high-level vocals or acting coaches. It is also very expensive to travel for auditions.
Q: How important is writing down a budget?
A: It is essential. It may seem like this is just a passion, but this is a real business. So you have to write down a business plan, estimate expenses and set out a timetable. At the end of a certain period, you have to make a business judgement about whether it makes sense.
Q: What do many parents do wrong in this situation?
A: They do many things wrong. Mostly it is because they lack experience in these areas, and have no objectivity. When it is your kid, it is so easy to lose perspective.
That is why I strongly urge parents to work with experienced professionals as a third party. It is a treacherous terrain and they need to make sure everything is being done in the child’s interest.
Q: Is there any positive effect of stardom apart from the money?
A: The best positive effect in stardom, is that it greatly impacts their mental prowess. That means their mental faculties are open to greater heights. By them being exposed to what they love doing, as a ‘profession’, gives them even much more impetus to perform better in their academic life.
Q: What about the negative effect of stardom in children?
A: The negative effect could come as a result of the child taking too much time with their stardom. This means less social life. Without a manager, it becomes detrimental to the child. In some cases it can lead to stress, depression and in some cases suicide.
That is why I strongly urge parents to work with experienced professionals. It is a treacherous terrain, and they need to make sure everything is being done in the child’s interest.
