Let Kids Be Kids
Warning: The following article contains mentions of eating disorders, abuse and sexual assault.
Warning: The following article contains mentions of eating disorders, abuse and sexual assault.
For many of us, the memory of our childhood probably holds a special place in our hearts. It’s the time where we could just be ourselves, go to school, learn new things and have fun. The process of growing up can be scary but also exciting at the same time. Most of our development happens during this time where we get our gears turning and learn skills that could benefit us in the long run. However, this may not be the case for many kids. For instance, children who have to put themselves into the workforce to support their families or in worst case scenarios, those who are abused at a young age and are unable to enjoy their childhood because of this. There is no doubt that children who experience the situations mentioned before suffer much hardship and pain. No child should go through years of abuse be it physical or emotional. Emotional abuse can be just as bad as physical abuse. Oftentimes people dismiss emotional abuse as they think it is not as severe. This is definitely not true as there are many people who went through emotional abuse and suffered for years due to the trauma imposed upon them. Child celebrities unfortunately are known to go through years of emotional abuse from the people around them. It could be by their parents, personal managers or casting directors. The never ending articles of how rebellious certain child stars have become after breaking out of their mould the media has created for them shows the damaging effects of reaching stardom at a young age. Now with the presence of social media, the number of child celebrities and influencers are on the rise with countless children as young as infants are being put on the spotlight by the adults around them.
I remember binge-watching all kinds of TV shows as a child. Disney Channel was the channel where many of my friends and I would watch during our ‘television’ time. Spending hours upon hours watching sitcoms which usually stars actors close to our age. Looking back I remember envying how much fun they were having and that they had made it at such a young age while I had to be like every other child who stayed at home and had to go to school everyday. They seem to be young, wild and free through my child’s lenses. However as years passed, that does not seem to be true for a lot of child stars.
One example of a child star who was known to go ‘crazy’ and ‘rebellious’ was Miley Cyrus. Numerous media companies painted her as this innocent and cute child who went insane after her Disney Channel days. She was not the only one who received scrutiny from the media for ‘acting out’. Other similar celebrities who were also in the same entertainment industry have received much backlash from the media after their child acting days. The endless search results of ‘child actors who went crazy’ demonstrates how much the media likes to focus on the downfall of many of these young stars. Some iconic celebrities such as Lindsay Lohan, Amanda Bynes and Macaulay Culkin who reached the peak of fame at a young age have all been victims of constant online harassment. Although there are more regulations on child labour laws in terms of the entertainment industry, that does not seem to stop adults from exploiting these young stars.
Hollywood is not the only place where you can find children being exploited for monetary gain, the Kpop industry is also known to debut idols at a young age. What’s worse is that these idols seem to be getting younger and younger as years pass. Children as young as 14 years old are being put on stage just to entertain us. More often than not, these idols are forced to wear stage outfits that may be inappropriate for their age and sadly they may be unable to voice their discomfort in fear of getting in trouble. They also need to present themselves as well-behaved and mature in front of the camera. This is a hard task even for adults, imagine a child having to face the pressure of the media where one wrong move could ruin their entire life.
Effects of being a child star
If we could just look behind the scenes, the child entertainment industry consists of a system of abuse that strips away the childhood of these young celebrities. As a result of this, many of them suffer from mental health years after quitting the industry. These children are being put onto the spotlight with all eyes on them, having to face the same pain and criticisms as their adult counterparts. It leaves a damaging effect on them and as a way to cope with their struggles many of them opt to unhealthy habits such as drug use, alcoholism and in some severe cases committing crimes. Sadly a lot of these young celebrities dealt with substance abuse even before they became teenagers. No child should have access to drug and alcohol at such a young age. This demonstrates how they were forced to grow up faster than their peers under the eyes of the ever so pressuring entertainment industry.
There is also the unfortunately unavoidable sexualisation of these young stars. Brooke Shields is an example of this. Shield has gone through quite a lot even before she entered high school. From starring in some uncomfortable and creepy films to living with an alcoholic mother, it’s no surprise that she herself has suffered several mental health issues. Some films that she was in that could make any person feel uneasy are Pretty Baby where she was a child prostitute and Blue Lagoon where she spent most of her time on set naked when she was just 14 years old. She was also in a Calvin Klein advertisement where she was highly sexualised and she wasn’t even 16 yet at that time. No child should have to go through what she went through. Not only does the sexualisation of children fulfill the wants of pedophiles, it could also influence other young children that being sexually liberated at a young age is normal.
Most of the time young children do not just want to be a celebrity out of nowhere. Oftentimes they are being thrust into the entertainment field by their parents who seek financial gain through their child’s skills and talents. There are also parents who want to fulfil their own dreams through their child and live vicariously through them. There are plenty of instances where the parents are the cause of these child stars’ meltdowns and mental health issues. For instance Lindsay Lohan who acted out several times in public was due to her parents. Nepotism babies are also victims of this. Drew Barrymore was emotionally neglected when she was younger despite having parents who are also in the same industry.
These parents see their child as money makers, the breadwinner of the family. As soon as they discover their child could make more money by entertaining, they immediately jump on this opportunity to overwork and exploit their child for monetary gain. Although the children themselves do most of the work, they may not be able to keep what they earned to themselves as they are still minors who require a legal guardian to take over their finances. This also puts more pressure on the child as they are the main one who is supporting the family.
With the amount of pressure and demand these parents asked for, some child celebrities take it into their own hand to distance themselves from the toxic behaviour of their parents. Ariel Winter who was best known for her role as Alex Dunphy had legally emancipated from her mother when she was just a teenager. Winter, who had a not so stable relationship with her mother, decided to legally emancipate from her mother in order to live in a safer household and less toxic environment. She was thrust into the industry at the mere age of four by her mother and had no control on what she wanted to pursue. Although Winter does enjoy working in front of the camera, she can now live her own life and decide herself what’s best for her without the restraint from her mother. iCarly star Jenette McCurdy was also another victim of her own mother’s emotional abuse. She has recently published an autobiography detailing her traumatic childhood in the entertainment industry and the mental and physical abuse her mother has put upon her throughout the years. The book had garnered much attention as it tells the horrific events McCurdy went through as a child actress. Throughout her years in Nickelodeon, McCurdy felt miserable and even struggled with eating disorders as well as substance abuse. Not to mention Dan Schneider, the producer for numerous Nickelodeon shows was said to be verbally abusive and was even suspected to had sexually abused the young actors off screen.
How far is too far? When are we going to stop exploiting minors just to satisfy the selfish wants of the grown ups around them. Children should be going to school, having fun and discovering themselves before they are set out into the real world. No child should be the main one supporting the family financially. Reaching fame at an early age is not necessarily a bad thing if the child is actually enjoying it and still has some time to be a kid. Parents should always remember that their children should also have their own right to pursue what they want.
[Written By: Chow Anne Rose. Edited By: Balvin Dhaliwal]