[Axnxoxnx]

Old member gone anon because I want unbiased opinions.
We were out yesterday when we were approached by the director of a very large and apparently reputable child model agency. He had seen DS1 who is 3.5 and he gave us his card and asked us to think about giving him a call because he thought DS1 had a certain 'look' and might do well. From what I can tell, this agency does not take a huge number of kids so this seems a genuine offer. I do know such an offer is no guarantee of 'work'.
Anyway, I have very very mixed feelings about this. To put it in context, DH and I are both professionals and so money is not a consideration (the kids will get whatever they need for education/sport/music etc without having to 'work for it', if that makes sense (I know some parents put any earrings into an education fund).
So I have real objections to the idea of 'modeling', or my kids being told that the way they look is important. I also have objections to him 'working' at this age.
My only question is whether there is any other benefit or skill to be gained from potentially doing this?
In other words - if anyone on EB can convince me there is any non-financial benefit to this then I'll contact them. Otherwise we'll just put the card in the bin (my first inclination).

[Funwith3]

Your son might have fun? He might develop a terrific amount of confidence? He might be very good at it which could open a lot of doors for him down the track? Or he could meet some great little friends....

[Axnxoxnx]

Your son might have fun? He might develop a terrific amount of confidence? He might be very good at it which could open a lot of doors for him down the track? Or he could meet some great little friends....

This is what I was thinking... DH is worried it would be more 'sit still and smile for the camera' than 'fun'.
He's not lacking in confidence, LOL!

[LambChop]

So I have real objections to the idea of 'modeling', or my kids being told that the way they look is important. I also have objections to him 'working' at this age.

Agree with all this, for me it out weighs any perceived gain... he's 3.5, not 16....

[Cranky Kitten]

I wouldn't do it. I was approached when DD was a baby, about 10 months old I think - and to be honest the money could've come in handy at that time. But I decided against it as it seemed like a lot of pressure to put such a young child under. Maybe things have changed in the industry since then (this was 10 years ago) but it still gives a strong message that life and their value is all about their looks.

[BeYOUtiful]

My son has done a photo shoot with a modelling agency.
At first he didn't want to participate and wanted me in the shot area with him. Which we did until he was comfortable and dancing around with big smiles.
By the middle/end of the shoot he was loving it and when we were leaving he was asking for more photos.
So it was a confidence booster for him, which he had fun with.

Each parent was right beside their child, near the photographer.

We won the photo shoot but an agency is interested in his photos. Not sure where I will take that at this point.

Not sure how often Directors would hand out their card randomly, I would thoroughly check out the business. If it was in a supermarket they may have been recruiting for more on their books.

Just to add, for us they definitely made the shoot fun and incorporated toys/skateboards etc. It was all about capturing him having fun, not seated and posed. We arrived at 10:00am and finished around lunch time.

This post has been edited by ~Jane05~: 03/02/2013, 09:14 AM

[MrsShine]

I work in film & TV and sometimes in stills photography/modelling too (as a makeup artist & stylist - not as talent).

I also work with a lot of kids (& their parents!) and have mixed feelings myself.

The are a lot of fabulous parents who keep their modelling/perorming children grounded, in these cases I find its brilliant for the kids to learn to listen to direction, follow instructions etc. their parents are always the ones who are quietly encouraging and say things like "X, are you listening to x" (usually director etc. and in these cases I think it's good for kids. They are constantly meeting new people and having to introduce themselves, behave accordingly, eat new foods for set catering etc. and a lot of them really thrive.

I've seen older kids who are in school tell me that their fee goes into a long term account that they can't access until their are 18 plus but their parents encourage them to take out $50-100 each school holidays and use it for the things they want to do. It makes the kids really have to think hard about whether they want to spend that money and helps them grasp the concept of expenses. So in these cases I think it's really good. Socially aware, helping to behave accordingly in new situations and meet & handle new people and situations which are great life skills.

But then the are the stage parents - and the ones that just drop their kids off and sit in the corner on the iPhone for the day and let the kid run wild whilst the crew try to get them to behave.....don't even get me started on those kids/parents!

[flushthetoilet]

I think the hassle factor would rule anything out for me at that age. I imagine any 'jobs' he'd be asked to do would take a huge chunk out of your day, and I think the average 3.5 year old child would be bored silly after about 10 minutes.

[Kay1]

Gosh I'd give it a go. If its not fun don't do it again.

I think he'd get a kick out of seeing his picture in something and he's not old enough to understand its because of his 'looks' IMO.

Disclaimer: I would be so damn proud I would not be able to say no LOL.

[amabanana]

Like all things, I really think it depends on the parent. If you are grounded and doing it for the right reasons and happy to quit if it isn't for you or your child then go for it!
You could even liken it to playing sports or dancing. Some parents are in it for themselves and are full on! Others are doing it because their child enjoys it. Modelling, sport, it's all the same to me. Doing it 'wrong' can damage your child.

I'd also be wary of them asking you to fork out hundreds of dollars to be on their books. If they scouted you let them spend the dough.

(DD5 has did some modelling when she was 4. She loved it. It was just a couple of times and she is not with an agency. If we were asked to do it again I would say yes. We had fun. As soon as it wasn't fun or became an issue though it would cease.)