Kids Should Not Be Breadwinners

Hi,

I’ve never been a fan of social media accounts run by parents of “talented” kids. You know, the pages with the 5 year olds doing 20 backflips or the 7 year olds that know how to do long division in their head. The main issue I have with these “talented” kid social media accounts is that it usually seems like these parents are shoving a phone in their kid’s face to make a buck. Most of the time it comes off as exploit-y to me.

I’m not talking about normal people just sharing pictures of their kids doing normal things for family and friends to see. I’m talking about social media accounts that pump out content daily about their child that’s an amazing dancer, singer, pianist, gymnast, etc. Does an 8 year old really want to play the piano every day of their life for ten of thousands of people to see? Yeah, I don’t think so either. Especially knowing that some of these parents are making a living by possibly exploiting their kids, just does not sit right with me.

I will say, I understand parents want their kids to be successful and have all the opportunities available to them. But at what cost? I think most people would look at those pages and say “well maybe the kid enjoys it.” Yes, this could absolutely be the case some of the time but my background makes me a little less trusting. I grew up playing tennis. From the age of 7, I felt immense anxiety every time I stepped on a tennis court for practice or a match. With my dad as my coach, I absolutely hated it. I hated the pressure to perform, constantly. With a severe punishment on the other end if I didn’t.

Even though I was mostly miserable during that time, I’m glad I got to play a sport at a high level growing up. It made me the person I am today and I’m thankful for that. But it screwed up familial relationships for me. Was it worth it? In my opinion, no. So as I watch these “talented” social media kids, I see myself in a way. I hope they never feel pressure to continue performing for their parents. Most importantly, I hope they’re happy.

Thanks for reading.