Child Modeling - Huntington,NY

HI E.

Our son (9 months) does some child modeling and is wirth a firm in the city.

It is a lot fo work and although he has taken very well to it, I might be ending his "career" rather early.

The time commitment is huge. If her mother has a job or other children, she won't be able to do it. You have to go on go-sees (auditions) 3-5 times a week. You only get 24 hours notice and you have to go to every one. That is your end of the bargain. If you have any appointments, you must call them in and book out, even if it's a few hours. Other than your booked out days/hours, you are on call.

The money isn't great. It's only $50-150 an hour minus 20-30% for the agency and fees.

The mothers you will meet are kind of creepy. They are onsessed with their children! They are doing it for their own ego and you will overhear some vicious comparisons and unnecessary bragging going on.

All that being said, why are we doing it? Well, I don't work right now so I have the time. I love the city, I used to live there, and when I go in I make it a point to see some old local friends and hit some shops. My son actually enjoys himself at the jobs. He loves cameras and is a total ham so for him it's like playtime with new friends. If that ever changes, I will stop in a heartbeat. And it's nice to have some money set aside for him that he "earned."

If she is interested in pursuing it, she needs to take some color, clear pictures of her son. Then she can send them into either Ford, Wilhelmina, Product Model Management, Generation Model Management, or a number of others. If you do a web search for these agencies you will find their instructions for submission.

Good Luck.

Hi, I just wanted to say good luck. I asked the same question not too long ago and I didn't get any responses, not even one. I'll be cheking back periodically to see if you do. I also didn't get any responses regarding how much babysitters are getting paid these days either.....hmm....

:)

Ok ladies here is what I got for you. When My oldest son was between 1 and 2. Everyone told me that we should see if he would make a good model. I took him for those VERY expensive Olan Mills photos, which came out beautiful. Then I found out that I would have to travel to NY quite often, that is if a company liked the portfoilo.

Think about how much time and money you would have to invest. These trips would be during the work week of course. So you wouldn't be able to have a full time job. The only way I would have even thought of it would be if I lived in NY.

OK is is a dream for most parents to have their child become a model. My question is: Is it the best thing for the child??
There would be no set schedule for eating or sleeping. The lights are hot. They would be around strangers all the time. People would be asking them to smile, look this way or that, sit, stand, walk and who knows what else is involved.

Now think how all of this attention would effect your child if they do become sucessful. Would they have a normal childhood with steady friends? Or would they constantly be around adults? This I know is not good for most kids, because they need to interact with other children their own age.
My youngest ended up being around a lot of adults and no children his own age because we were kind of isolated where we live. When he did start school, he used adult sentances and did not know how to interact with other kids his own age. He is now 18 and still has trouble coping with people his own age.

Now look at how screwed up all those famous children stars are today. I am VERY GLAD THAT I DID NOT CHOOSE TO FOLLOW THROUGH with my son. He is a well adabted and humble young man that treats others with respect and sees all people as equals.

This is how I feel and what was right for my family and myself. What is right for your family and children is something you have to deside. Good luck.

I always toy with the idea for my "in the spotlight" 5-year old and then pull back for all the scams out there. I know there is a legitimate school/agency in Parsippany,NJ called John Robert Powers. Supposedly they are a franchised operation-I do advertising for them.
Unfortunately, that is all I can offer!!