Words of counsel from former child stars

RYZZA Mae Dizon, currently the country’s top child star. eat bulaga facebook photo

At recent media and show biz events, we caught up on old times with some former child stars, who commented favorably on our cautionary pieces about the “dark” side to the seemingly fun and perk-laden world of juvenile performers, of which the local entertainment world has literally hundreds of practitioners and aspirants.

We asked them for words of counsel for today’s batch of child talents and their “stage parents,” so that they could avoid at least some of the pitfalls that faced our “instant” resource persons in their own high-flying and occasionally rough-sailing careers. Their hopefully helpful inputs:

Who wants it?

It’s important that parents clearly establish that it’s their children who want to become juvenile entertainers. All too often it’s one of the parents who used to dream of stardom but failed to make it, so now she or he is “living the dream” vicariously through the child.

If that’s the case, parents should refrain from pushing their children into performing, because personal hilig or innate, determined love for performing on the child’s part is essential to a successful show biz career.

The performing kid should never be forced to become the family’s breadwinner, because all sorts of resentments and psychological problems could result from this onerous imposition—which many “stage parents” make on their poor children!

In fact, the money a child talent makes shouldn’t be spent by their parents, but should be put in a trust fund that the youth can access when he becomes a young adult. Only a few enlightened parents of child stars do this, which could explain why so many talent-parent relationships in local entertainment are fraught with unhappiness and strife.

Child talents should be motivated to continue with their studies even if they’re busy with show biz assignments. Plus, they should be given the free time to play and socialize with their peers, and generally just be children, even if they become popular.

Free time

Kids need free time to play and develop their physical, mental and psychological abilities, and “work” shouldn’t be allowed to usurp this essential time reserved for natural human development.

Young stars, who are made to shoot or perform for long hours often grow up into troubled, unhappy and resentful young adults—and a similar toll is taken on their physical growth, with many former child stars ending up “vertically challenged” adults, because the late nights they kept affected their natural development!

It also isn’t psychologically healthy for child talents to focus too much on work, because the show biz environment exposes them to too much fast-living and cynical, opportunistic adults, who may set the wrong example for vulnerable youths to emulate.

This risk is exacerbated by the penchant of directors to make kids dress like and act like “little adults,” because they think viewers find that precociously smart and cute.

So many warnings! That’s because vulnerable and underdeveloped psyches are at risk, and even industry people admit that show biz is too fast, competitive and cynical a place for children to “healthily” grow up in.

So, “momagers” and other stage parents have to be constantly on their guard, to make sure that their kids are exposed to the good side of the business, and shielded from the dangers and pitfalls that lie—like landmines!— along the way to precocious child stardom!