How to Keep Your Child Actor Safe on Social Media - Marketing4Actors (2024)

FAQs

How to Keep Your Child Actor Safe on Social Media - Marketing4Actors? ›

Never use your home address or phone number on anything (website, headshots, social media). Always list your child's agent or manager as the contact information. If they don't have representation use your email.

Current guidelines call for parents of minors to keep their child in “sight and sound” at all times, and for a child actor's shift to be regulated. Another line of protection exists in the role of the “studio teacher” or “set teacher,” whose job is to protect and provide educational services for child actors.

Use parental controls to block harmful content

Parental controls can be used to limit which social media apps your children can use or for how long they can use them. But more importantly, these settings can be used to block harmful or inappropriate content.

Further, the law specifies that the intent behind the action has to be of sexual interest. Because of how the laws are written, as long as an adult actor does not have a sexual interest in their underage co-star, kissing them on screen is perfectly legal.

What is Child Actor Syndrome? The term “Child Actor Syndrome” is often used in media to describe troubled adults who grew up from childhood acting. They may struggle with anxiety, depression and other mental health issues as a result of the scrutiny they lived under during important developmental years.

The Coogan Law mandates that 15% of child actors' earnings be placed in a trust account, safeguarding their financial future until they reach adulthood. Producers are responsible for ensuring these deposits are made within 15 days of employment to comply with the law and avoid legal repercussions.

Coogan's Law, also known as The California Child Actor's Bill, requires employers and managers of child entertainers – those under the age of 18 – to set aside 15 percent of each child's earnings into a trust. The trust is the sole property of that child and is inaccessible until the child's eighteenth birthday.

The best place for child actors to find auditions is through an online casting platform like Backstage—at least at first. Once a child actor has secured representation, their agent will have direct connections to casting directors and can submit them for bigger roles with major networks and studios.

What is the safest social media for children? ›

In short. While texting is a wonderful way for kids to maintain friendships and exercise their independence, there are a number of concerns parents should recognize. It's advisable to maintain some level of involvement in your child's text messages, using a combination of monitoring and open communication.

Search engines

If you're worried: make sure the content your child sees online is appropriate for their age by using parental controls and filters in search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing. make sure you have set parental controls on the home broadband and devices.

It is also important for parents to realize that 13 is the minimum age for most social media sites. 13 years is the age set by Congress in the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which prohibits websites from collecting information on children younger than 13 years without parental permission.

And for this reason, most productions will actually prefer that a parent be on set with their young actor. Even if they are legally able to be there on their own.

Staying Safe on Set

Always communicate your whereabouts to a parent or a trusted friend, especially if the filming location is new or remote. Keeping someone informed about your location can ensure that help is available.

Instilling good manners and how to be polite in your toddler can go a long way to prevent her from becoming spoiled. Teach her to say please and thank you, to share and take turns, and to show others respect.

Validate their interests and provide opportunities for them to express themselves. Set up a mini stage at home or run lines with them from their favorite movies. Children thrive when you match them with the same enthusiasm. Ask them questions, and let them share with you the “why” behind their interests.