The Trouble With Babies
by Paul Petersen

A number of people have asked me to explain why this Baby Business you've read so much about in the Washington Post, National Enquirer and other publications is so important ... and how, if the violations are so serious, no charges have been brought. I will now attempt to explain.

First, the Law as it is written in California ... and remember, many states have NO child labor laws for kids in the entertainment business. If you think it's bad here at the center of film making, imagine what it's like "out there" in other jurisdictions, let alone other countries.

"No infant may be employed in California under the age of Fifteen Days." That's the Law.

A full-term, fifteen day old infant has a certain "look" about it ... pink and healthy, already adding to its birth-weight.

But what if you're a Producer who wants to simulate a "live birth" and needs a baby who looks like a newborn?

A notice goes out to the Baby Suppliers (yes, there are such things) calling for an infant that will be filmed in a "simulated live birth." This is a coded message well understood by the people who bird-dog babies for Hollywood. What is required is a low birth-weight baby who will "simulate" the wrinkled appearance of a newborn.

Low birth weight babies are at increased risk for infections and other ailments. That's a fact!

The Law only recognizes the actual date of birth ... not the Due Date. So an infant born six weeks premature and still underweight when it passes its fifteen day birthday neatly satisfies the Producer's requirements for a simulated Newborn.

Best of all, the Producer can say he has not "knowingly employed" a premature infant.

Please remember little Jessica Dubroff, the seven year old pilot killed in Wyoming because her "flight" was LEGAL according to FAA officials ... even though it was WRONG.

Beware the bureaucrats, for one day they follow the letter of the Law, and the next day they ignore the spirit of that same Law. Happens all the time.

That's what killed Jessica Dubroff; the failure of even one person to stand up and say, "Stop! This is wrong."

As my friend, Studio Nurse Virginia Eckvahl says, "Hollywood treats babies all to often like props."

Am I saying that using babies is wrong at all times and in all places? Of course not. A full-term baby in good health is not at risk spending two hours at a studio within the strict limits of twenty minutes in front of a camera and under lights with that twenty minutes limited to thirty seconds at a time. Infants under six months of age have a registered Nurse AND a Teacher/Welfare worker in attendance ... not to mention an Adult Guardian, usually the Mom, with them throughout their two hours "at work."

No Nurse is required after an infant reaches Six Months of Age. The hours an infant aged six months to two years old can work are doubled ... from two hours to four.

Please remember, we are talking about California Law for these children ... the most progressive in the Nation.

Let me go back to the Law as it was written and passed for the babies age fifteen days to six months. The hours an infant of this age can work are clearly spelled out: 9:30 AM to 11:30 AM or 2:30 PM to 4:30 PM.

The Department of Labor, charged with oversight in its Standards and Enforcement Division, has ruled that infants may work ANY TWO HOURS between 5:00 AM and 12:30 AM

Moreover, an additional half-hour may be added to baby's work time by simply calling "Lunch."

Babies have schedules ... and parents struggle to keep that schedule because infants can get sick in a heartbeat. That's why the Law says there will be two time windows ... morning and afternoon.

But the Department of Labor ... AND THE STUDIO TEACHERS TO WHOM IT ISSUES CREDENTIALS... STUDIO TEACHERS WHO ARE PAID BY THE PRODUCERS ... has ruled that infants, despite what the Law plainly says, can work any two hours between Five AM and Twelve-Thirty AM ... and their limit of two hours is actually two-and-a-half hours.

This ruling is contained in Management Memorandum 87-1 issued in 1987 by the now retired head of enforcement, Lloyd W. Aubry, Jr.

I know this business of the hours is tedious and difficult to grasp. And we haven't even discussed the physical requirements of employing a baby ... things like cribs, a changing table, bottle warmers and all the rest. The "Baby Call Guidelines" that we've submitted are elsewhere on our Web. Take a look and see if you can find fault with these recommendations.

In other States ... and it is not necessary for me to name them ... there are NO requirements to have a Welfare Worker OR a registered Nurse on hand when babies under six months old go to work ... just a parent, and the California requirement that there be an adult guardian for EACH CHILD is wholly ignored.

In other countries it is the Guardian who keeps the time. There are occasions when California infants go to work in other States. Worse, there are times when American kids go to work in other countries with absolutely NO protections whatsoever.

"A Minor Consideration" wants uniform National Standards so Producers are not "tempted" to cross imaginary boundaries in order to save a few bucks by exploiting children. The practice is well established. It's disgraceful!

Now, a word about "E.R." which has taken a lot of heat. When the Producers of this fine show were alerted to the on-set problems, they and the executives at Warner Brothers quickly instituted reforms to better protect infants. They couldn't have been more concerned ... or more willing to better enforce common sense safety standards ... even if this meant additional expense. They are parents, too. And good people.

The same goes for "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman," executives and crew who went out of their way to learn the rules and made sure that they went well beyond minimal requirements.

None of the shows I've mentioned have done anything illegal ... nor have any of the production companies been fined or sanctioned.

Screen Actors Guild, which acts as the de facto representative for these babies, does not require that children join the Guild until the age of Four. Most babies are considered "extras."

The problem we're addressing got its start back in 1938 when the Federal government EXEMPTED kids in the entertainment business from Child Labor Laws and left it up to the individual States.

Individual States compete for the big dollars film and television production bring in ... and more than a few have deliberately avoided passing any child labor laws for reasons that are all too apparent.

California has seen too many run-away productions ... about two BILLION dollars worth ... or about forty thousand jobs ... and knows for a fact that some of these run-away productions travel to other jurisdictions for the express purpose of exploiting children.

This practice is shameful.

It's getting worse.

In California, companies in the Entertainment Business that employ minors have to have a permit to do so. It's called the Certificate of Eligibility to Employ Minors. This permit is issued by the Department of Labor which has a Commissioner appointed by the Governor.

This "Certificate of Eligibility" must be obtained by the major studios and the much smaller independents if they wish to hire minors.

There are no Permits required of Parents, no set of standards or confirmation of their knowledge before they put their most precious gift in front of a camera. Most parents are entirely careful with their children. Most parents take the time to learn the rules and make a point of following them ... with or without the support of the Studio Teacher, Screen Actors Guild or their agent. Most parents take their role seriously.

Most, but not all.

I once tried to explain why so many Show Business Parents seem to lose sight of what is important this way:

"Show Business Parents are like rabbits on a night-time highway. Bright lights blind them."

Imagine you are a new mother or father of twins, still bedazzled by this magnificent gift God has given you ... and along comes someone who says, "Your babies are beautiful. You should share them with the world. They should be in pictures ... and you can make three or four hundred dollars a day, just doing what you'd do with them at home anyway."

How easy to go for this line when you haven't yet learned how difficult babies can be, how vulnerable and fragile they are, and how sensitive they can be to alterations in their schedules, how poorly they travel when they're young, and how often they get sick and then well, often in the same day. How easy to go for the gold. Maybe you're unmarried, or a minority, or struggling to make ends meet. Maybe you're a child yourself ... and someone comes along offering to put your kids in the movies, or a commercial that will mean thousands of dollars.

How easy to believe that the person who recruits you is telling the truth, that the Teacher/Welfare Worker is fully on the side of your baby, that the adults who are employing your baby are concerned about the health and safety of your infant. Babies have been in the movies for almost a century, so surely there are rules that everyone follows.

Aren't there?

Here are the facts. Babies are inconvenient. Taking care of them is expensive. They do not always cooperate. They are dependent on us to protect them. Babies do not choose their parents.