A model approach

US: Maybe it’s the popularity of reality TV shows like Runway. Maybe it’s a way to earn money in a recession. Or maybe there are just a lot of cute kids out there. Whatever the reason, more and more American parents are registering their children with modelling and talent agencies.

Modelling agencies from coast to coast are reporting an increase in the number of applications. Wilhelmina Kids and Teens and FunnyFace Today Inc., both in New York City, say numbers have been rising for several years. Charlie Winfield, head booker at FunnyFace Today, told The Wall Street Journal that applications from potential child models have gone up by 50 per cent since 2006. More parents are taking their children to modelling auditions, Winfield says. “It’s another way to subsidize their incomes.”

“I know people who successfully saved money this way"

Natacha Andrews is one of these parents. The 36-year-old lawyer from Phoenix, Arizona, recently registered her four-year-old daughter with a modelling agency. “I know people who successfully saved money this way,” says Andrews, who is the mother of five children. “I want to make the most out of whatever resources we have.”

The young models face a lot of competition, however, and their chances are limited because of reduced advertising budgets. “The quality of jobs and how many options are out there is definitely lower this year,” says Jason Jeffords, who owns Puddletown Talent in Portland, Oregon.

Carol Stevenson agrees. Stevenson, 39, a PR consultant, has signed up her three children with Peak Models & Talent in Los Angeles. She had hoped that they would be able to save money for university, but only two of her children have found jobs. The third, six-year-old Sabrina, “is a little sad”, her mother says. “We’ve explained to her the best way we can that for different reasons they are looking for different looks.”

Many parents remain optimistic, however. More than two million of them have registered with the website TheCuteKid.com, which asks parents to submit photos of their children. The photos are then judged by casting agents.

The New York State Consumer Protection Board warns parents to be cautious about signing contracts with model and talent agencies. “Everyone wants to think that their darling is the most talented,” says the board’s chairperson and executive director Mindy Bockstein. “They get inflated promises or ideas of grandeur. Sometimes that gets the best of them."