Child Stars

Now there’s a subject! Turn on the news or open a magazine and you will find some train wreck of a child star in the headlines.

This is not a new occurrence. Go back as far as The Little Rascals, Alfalfa had troubles when he grew up and ultimately committed suicide. Danny Bonaduce, from the Partridge Family, seems to be doing fine now, but view his history. Todd Bridges – we cannot forget his bout with drugs and illegal activity. He is another who seems to be doing fine at the present time.

The list goes on and on.

Is it the bad influences around them? Is it the parents? It could very well be a combination. Parents, nowadays, have a hard enough time with their children without the glare of the spotlight. I am not trying to offer up an excuse, but when your child is making more than you can make in a lifetime I can see how they tend to turn a blind eye to some of their behavior. Some become accustomed to the perks their child’s “job” has afforded them. Did you see I same SOME, because there are others who would be bad parents regardless of what their child did.

The kids and authority figures are to blame too. The more popularity they have, the more they believe they are above the law. And, the authority figures (police, judges, etc.) play right into it by just giving them a slap on the wrist. Well, if they spend some REAL time behind bars then the reality check might actually work. There are cases where if the deed done was committed by a regular citizen, he or she would be UNDER the jailhouse, but “Joe Star” get a $10,000 fine are on the streets within hours. No consequences for their actions, so they just thumb their nose at Lady Justice.

I saw an article where Billy Ray Cyrus wishes Hannah Montana had not happened because he is now worried about his daughter. Well …. She’s legal age now but when she was younger, what happened? Was she allowed to get away with certain things? If she did rebel, what were the repercussions? I know if I did something my parents told me not to do, I’d be in SERIOUS trouble (SERIOUS TROUBLE). I believe the result would be the same whether I was some cute kid on television or not.

The parents now are nothing like my parents, or my parents’ parents. They are trying so hard to be their child’s friend. Well, they have enough friends – they need mothers and fathers. I love my mother dearly, but why would I want to go out clubbing with her even when that was something we would want to do? No, there’s nothing wrong with hanging out with your mom, but all of your friends your age and your mom going to the nightclub – that’s not a good picture no matter how it’s painted.

As for child stars, there have been a lot of successes, Ron Howard, who requires no examples to show his success. Peter Billingsley, the kid from A Christmas Story, is a successful director. Jodie Foster left the industry to get a college degree before returning to work. These individuals show it is possible to raise a balanced child amongst the craziness of Hollyweird. Looking at some of the young stars now, it will be interesting to see what happens with them – unfortunately, there will be some train wrecks to watch in the future.