Labor laws in the United States limit the work hours of children under the age of 16. Some exceptions include working for a family business or farm, but few, if any, industries compare to the world of acting in terms of the number of hours a teen, child, or even an infant can put in daily.
There are also a few other industries (though modeling comes to mind) in which a child is at such risk of exploitation and has so much access to such dangerous choices. (Drew Barrymore famously began drinking at only 9 years old, for example.)
Now Miranda Cosgrove, whose iCarly costar, Jennette McCurdy, has written a book about her damaging experiences as a child actor, is also speaking out. Her call to action is directed to parents.
Miranda Cosgrove Speaks From Experience
Cosgrove started appearing in commercials as a small child, and by her early teens, had appeared in multiple movies and television shows before starring in her own show, iCarly.
Speaking to People Magazine now, as an adult looking back, she describes being “bummed” about the homeschooling that is standard for most child actors, because she enjoyed attending school. She also spoke of some of the other parts of acting that could be “complicated” or “messy.”
The points she names, though, like being embarrassed of some of the outfits people could see her in on the internet, or the strange sensation of being recognized, aren’t quite on the same level as those described by costar Jennette McCurdy.
Cosgrove says that one key difference is that her mother wasn’t her manager, and she seems to hint at another important difference between her experience and McCurdy’s.
““So many kids end up acting since their parents wanted them to do it, and I think that’s where it gets really messy and complicated…Because then it’s way more about the parent than it is the child. And I really don’t like that. I don’t think it’s fair at all.”
Her advice?
“Really make sure you’re protecting your kids…be ready for it to get very complicated. And you just have to be really tough and know when to pull your kid out of situations.”
McCurdy & Other Child Stars
McCurdy released a memoir in 2022 with the shocking title, I’m Glad My Mom Died. In it, she detailed her experiences of being pushed by her mother to act, regardless of her interest, and the constant pressure to lose weight and please producers and casting directors.
She also alludes to inappropriate behavior from an adult she refers to only as “The Creator.”
A docuseries called Quiet On The Set would follow, and would be less cagey about naming the subject of allegations. It called out Nickelodeon producer Dan Schneider. He’s been accused of verbal abuse and worse. NPR describes scenes in which children seem to have been set up with sexual innuendo on-screen:
“Scenes…including a young Ariana Grande squeezing a potato suggestively to try and produce juice from it, or a moment where a blob of goo spurts onto the face of Jamie Lynn Spears.”
There’s also an implied link as others on the sets of his shows have been charged with child sex crimes. Schneider has filed a defamation lawsuit, claiming that the docuseries falsely implied he committed such crimes himself.
Other Dangers Of Child Stardom
On set, children are often exposed to adult themes as well as to adults who may not all have their best interests at heart.
They may be subjected to abuses that are common in workplaces, which aren’t acceptable when visited on adult employees, but even worse for children, including high pressure to choose job performance over personal health and well-being, and damage to self-esteem.
Even ordinary job stress that adults can handle can be overwhelming for kids, especially when they also have to juggle education, social life, and the challenges of growing up.
These kids, whose peer group becomes their fellow actors instead of kids their age, often have access to alcohol and illegal drugs, and may feel under pressure to partake. There is a clear child-star-to-rehab track, and while not every child actor ends up on that route, enough do to raise concerns.
Meanwhile, parents may be adding to the pressure, or may not recognize enough of what’s going on to know when and how to intervene.
That’s where Cosgrove’s advice to stage parents comes in: if your child is going to participate in this world, you must be aware and involved enough to protect them. That’s not always going to be easy, and even with the most involved and caring parents, Hollywood can still pose risks to children.