My daughter is almost 20, and when she was 3 the phone calls starting rolling in with requests from local modeling studios to have my daughter model, try out for TV commercials, etc. I said no. I had one mother yell at me because of my refusal to let my daughter participate and for the opportunities I was keeping her from, but it was a choice I made as her mother because I thought that it was best for her as an individual.
She discovered climbing a few years later and escaped the whole dieting-and-oh-dear-do-I-look-fat drama of mid-school tween girls. She had come to see her body as a tool for her sport and ate like a horse, exercised hard, and wouldn't eat or drink anything that might hold her back physically in her sport. I am certain that this confidence with her body saved us a lot of heartache as she maneuvered those terribly difficult years.
She didn't ask to start wearing makeup until mid-school, and it was such a welcome change from her tomboy baggy t-shirts that I agreed and helped her learn how to wear it appropriately. I didn't make it a big deal, and she transitioned well into a young lady.
I'm not sorry I prevented some opportunities or closed some doors when she was young. I wanted to let her have a normal childhood, and for my daughter it was the right choice. I am in no way passing judgment on mothers who choose the modeling, child acting route, because every child is different and the dynamic of every family is different. But for my daughter, I wanted to preserve her childhood as long as possible.
