Implications

It appears that one can reduce the risk of negative consequences associated with being a young performer by ensuring that the child achieves a very 1igh level of success or by fostering a secure and positive parent-child relationship. Unlike ensuring professional success, the latter option is realistically within the control of the parent.

The present findings suggest that a healthy parental attachment maybe fostered even in the chaotic environment of the entertainment industry. Although specific recommendations should await prospective study of the young performer population, the results of this study suggest that, in addition to caring and encouragement of autonomy, parents should ensure their child feels that involvement in acting is the child's decision, attempt to facilitate a normal peer network, and strongly consider retaining the services of competent professionals to manage their child's career and earnings. To help maintain normal parent-child boundaries and avoid bitterness over monetary mismanagement, it may also be helpful to view the child's earnings as a manner to cover the costs of the activity and as a future resource for the child, as opposed to family income.

In any competitive field, only a few individuals can occupy the elite positions. Parents of talented children surely realize that they cannot guarantee their child's success; therefore, it may be helpful to be aware of the potential risks involved in excessive exposure to low-status positions, rejections, or failure. Yet, this study confirms the notion that many children initiate and proactively seek to maintain their involvement in an intensive activity such as professional acting, regardless of the stress. Taken together, the findings highlight the delicate balance that parents must strive to achieve between encouraging autonomy and protecting children from their natural inclination to overindulge in pleasant activities.

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Last modified: December 13, 1998