If your child had the potential and opportunity to become the next Justin Beiber or Miley Cyrus would you let them?

I don’t think I would let them, but I’m not really sure. I would much rather my son (and future children) to just be children while they can. They have a lot of living to do after childhood for that kind of stuff in my opinion.

If they wanted to, I would let them. I would emphasize the dangers of fame.

You don’t become a Justin Beiber or a Miley Cyrus without a heck of a lot of desire to do so along with the talent to back it up.

I would not stand in the way of my child’s desire and potential.

They would need to be at least 16 for me to even consider it.

I don’t see why not, but I also don’t know the downside to fame. I just see the money and good times lol.

Most ‘successful’ child stars have been pushed and groomed by their parents, usually the mother, for years and years.
Marketing the childs cuteness before they are even out of diapers.
Very few just wake up one day when they are 10–15 and say ‘I want to be an actor/actress.’

For those that do it is a long and competitive road, that, without prior paving, most likely will lead to nowhere.

Tough call…not wanting to limit a childs potential but also not wanting to see them fall into the shallow abyss of Hollywood where they are constantly under the microscope trying to make the grade.
Glad my daughter is grown and is leading the life of an obscure artist like her mama. lol

Great question.

Money, and fame, and glory, are far, FAR down the list of things I would want my children to strive for. So I think my answer is no. The opportunity costs for childhood fame and fortune are too high, and I’d just assume my teenager become a well-adjusted adult grounded in the real world.

Oh, lord. I would never want to be a controlling parent but this is one situation where it becomes permissible. Growing up in a spotlight prevents a child from ever really being a child, but I think that children idealize fame far too much to have any kind of grasp on what its long term effects would be. This is not a situation in which I think kids are wise enough to choose their own path.

No. Such a thing would be a sign that your children lack creativity or talent, and it’s important that these things be fostered in childhood.

I kinda think that these are two very separate thoughts/career paths. Miley had a parent in the biz and was clearly pushed. She has publicly stated she does not want to sing. She only wants to act.

Justin was discovered due to his talent and knew know on in the biz.

My son loves to dance, sing, draw, write stories, etc. If by the age of 10 he wanted to begin getting paid for his work, I’d by no means stand in his way. I’d definitely still be parenting him though.

Gag me, please. Let me cross that bridge when we get there, which I don’t think we will, in my family. I don’t raise my children to want to be famous and disneyfied.

Ugh. I have this thing so strong inside me that doesn’t want to stifle a child’s talent; however, at what cost? There are successful child actors out there. Ones that don’t flash things they shouldn’t flash and don’t need rehab by 16. If one of my children truly wanted this, I sure would test the waters carefully.

I think there is a lot to be said about surrounding yourself with the right people.

I guess I’m somewhere on the fence.

@cak I misses you! :) So glad to see you here

I somewhat agree. I tend to think of the more positive side of things. If these kids parents hadn’t said “yes” to a youthful career we wouldn’t have had some great music/movies:
*Natalie Portman
*Dakota Fanning
*Justin Timberlake
*Peter Billingsley (we just adore “Ralphie”)
*Fred Savage

I can think of plenty of kids that have made a nice career for themselves. I’d be proud of them if they were my kids.

@SpatzieLover good to see you!!

Dakota Fanning has managed to stay in school, didn’t Natalie Portman graduate college? A very young child actor, Jodie Foster – wasn’t she Harvard?

I agree, it can be done. I think I’m just on the cautious side! so good to see you!

I would encourage her to be a proper independent musician, not one of those manufactured clones.

I don’t know who that first gal you listed is, but I wouldn’t mind them pursuing that route. I try to raise my kid well, and will try to guide her along the way.

besides, I heard her sing. There seems to be no chance of her becoming a famous singer like Miley Cyrus anytime soon.

(If I had kids…)

Not if they had the potential, but if they had the desire.
I’d be willing to push them through the hard parts, but only if I was helping them get to a life they really wanted.

I wouldn’t warn them of anything. I’d make sure they were aware of the full picture, as I’d do that with anything and everything before they fully stepped through the frame.

And, like others, I wouldn’t let them go through the Disney Machine, regardless.

My children are already too old to be Miley or Justin’s thank goodness, and if they had said that is what they wanted to do, I would have internally preferred they did not go down that path, but I also don’t believe in stamping on other people’s dreams. So, I would support them as much as I could without pushing them in that direction. I think we should reach for the stars and who am I to say the star that Justin Bieber reached for isn’t the right one for him or for my child if that was their goal. I would feel much worse about them turning to me later in life and saying you stymied my creativity and didn’t let me go for it. That would be awful.

I would but only if my child wanted to. My daughter had a chance to go to an acting school where she got picked out of 5000 kids and was the 3rd choice of the top 20 of the 25 that were picked. The scout said “please don’t take this the wrong way but she has the looks of a “clean” Lindsay Lohan.”. His words not mine. He had also scouted out Hannah Montana, the biggest name I can remember, but there were many others. My daughter decided she did not want to persue the dream and decided a different way in life but she always says, “I wonder if I had of…” We support her whatever she chooses.

No. If I had had a super talented child who was called by the entertainment world, and said child wanted to pursue it, said child would entertain in a clean, age-appropriate fashion, stay in school, and I would still be the boss.

It’s interesting. Both of my children have a great deal of talent, but neither is interested in seeking outside employment. I don’t think they like performing for people they don’t know. They are both good enough to take it on the road, but I’m glad they aren’t interested, because I would hate to be on the road. Do it local or don’t do it, is my way of thinking.