This is my 15 month old, Avalon:



I've been contacted by a modeling agency about her. I've been told constantly since she was born that she should model. I've thought about it for the past few months and have gone back and forth about it in my head. I don't know how to feel about it. Ethically.

Given my many years of intense insecurity, which at one point borderlined on agoraphobia (I didn't leave the house for about three years), I feel like I owe it to my daughter to keep her away from situations where her looks can be criticized. I don't want to instill this belief system in her that her worth is based upon her face and weight, even if I feel that is true for me. Modeling agencies and photographers can be very cruel. I don't want her to associate any sort of rejection with her not being good enough. She is young, fragile and impressionable.. at this point in time and in the next several years, anything said to her will mold her personality. I tell her all the time that she's beautiful and will continue to.. but from personal experience I can tell you that what another adult says to her will stay with her. When I was around 10, a perfect (adult) stranger called me fat and I've never forgotten.

With that said, I've read some experiences with mothers of modeling children that talk about how much fun it can be for them. It's future college money for her. When I originally considered it, I was raising her all by myself and needed the money.. now, now it's just an idea to save up for later. I know *I* feel, but I also somewhat believe that I could be letting my fears keep her from something she could enjoy.

What do you think? If it were your child, would you let her model?

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Sounds to me like you already know to keep her out of the industry.


And I wouldn't let my child. My child will have the world against him/her all throughout life. I will like to protect my child from this for as long as I can.

You want your child to have confidence and self esteem, then you personally help build that, don't leave it to strangers who only see dollar signs when they see her beautiful little self.

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I would let her grow up and allow her to choose her own dreams.

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i think she is too young to understand rejection or really get what's going on, so i don't see the harm in doing some photography or print work, so long as she seems to enjoy it (likes being in front of the camera, smiling, etc) when a child is that young, the parents decide everything for it, and if it's okay with you that someone takes photos of your daughter and the photo is used in a catalogue for baby clothes or whatever, then it's completely up to you! again, i don't see the harm, and she definitely won't remember anything from it later in life or really understand it at the time.

i would take her out of it once she got a bit older though (like 4-5, when she can understand and remember what people say about her) she may not be tall or thin enough to continue on modelling as she grows, so it's hard to judge now.

if she comes out and expresses interest in it later on at an older age, then it's up to you and her whether she can start doing it again, and consider the problems that you mentioned. like others have said, it's up to you to help her build confidence and self esteem, and if you do choose to continue her in modeling, to make sure she fully understands that not booking a job does not equal not good enough.

at 15 months though, worrying about rejection and eating disorders is a bit overkill. you have a beautiful daughter, so i would say go for it!

She is very young yet to make her own decisions about what she enjoys. She relies on you to make them for her and you seem to have a good head on your shoulders. You seem to already know the answer to this question which is that the benefits are not great enough to outweigh the very serious risks involved in child modeling. She is a beautiful girl and will have plenty of time to model if she chooses. For now, enjoy her as she is

Exactly what I was thinking.

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NW20 girl; light blonde hair, blue-gray eye color
~Dropkick Murphys~