To ask how to get my young DD into acting as a child?

Tbh op I agree, plus with developments with AI the really sad and disturbing part of it all is that if you do put your child out there in TV and film its very likely their face will be used in making malicious CA content in the dark corners of the Internet. I work in safeguarding so unfortunately very aware of this and you could not pay me enough money in the world to put my child's face out there until he's old enough to make informed choices for himself.

Your dd is very little, so while yes of course as a parent you want to encourage them to believe in themselves at that age developmentally you should be focusing on building a solid range of interests and focused on relationships with others and the environment/ nature. There is plenty of time for the rest if she's talented.

I think 4yos on TV come from exploitative families where the parents care more about living out their own dreams vicariously through their children than they do about their children's welfare.

Your child is 4. It is far too early for them to decide that they want to do this. If you think they would enjoy it, a local theatre school is a good way to enable them to explore that interest. There will be time to pursue it seriously at a later date if they are that way inclined.

Please don't be that pushy parent. Let your child just be a child.

If you’re in the Midlands look into the Television Workshop when your daughter gets a bit older. That’s how Vicky McClure got into the industry.

https://www.thetelevisionworkshop.co.uk

What sort of film and tv performing are you thinking of?

Those kids will have been found via child agencies so your dc would need to be registered with one. Most part-time theatre schools such as Stagecoach will know how to go about that, and will approach you and suggest it if your dc shows exceptional ability.

The majority of child performers will live fairly close to where the work is (eg: London agencies would prefer you to live within the M25 for instance), and to be available at very short notice. So unless you live within striking distance of a large city, the opportunities for being cast in anything would be extremely limited.

Good try making this seem as if your daughter wants it. Rather than you trying to live your dreams through her.

As someone who’s spent time in Film & TV, at age 4 they’re going to most likely be twins in any role other than a short cameo.

My daughter is a very good actress (awarded a scholarship at a prestigious school) and an amazing singer (has been in a West End show, sung with famous singers and on the BBC).

However, there’s no fame or glamour to it, and I absolutely put my foot down with her agent and with school as I didn’t want her academics to suffer. (She was approached for a main character role in a hugely popular West End show however it would’ve meant missing many of the first few months of senior school.)

Now she’s older we Iet her decide, she is well aware that she has to catch up school work and it’s late nights, but she is making the call on if she’s in certain shows. Exam years I won’t allow.

Why did I say all of this? Because she did nothing beyond a local dance/musical theatre school and performances at her primary school before the age of 11. And even now it’s not like it’s setting her up for a life of fame or fortune - and it’s definitely not setting us up for fortune! Quite the opposite!

She doesn’t think she wants to be a performer as her real job, her current dream is to be a vet. She just loves how singing makes her feel. I just want her to do something that she looks forward to waking up and doing every morning.

Please don’t pressure a child as young as yours into anything other than enjoying her childhood. They can only flourish when they discover things for themselves and have a true passion for it.

I was going to say something similar. A friend of my DD is tiny and has always looked much younger than her years. In primary school she did quite a bit of tv work playing children much younger than her actual years. She did go on to full time performing arts school and later got work playing teenage roles, but unfortunately now she looks too old for that but is too small for regular adult roles. But yes, from what we heard from her, it seems quite a lot of child roles are actually being played by someone several years older.

My daughter is in the industry- well she has an agent. She’s 10, has had an agent since she was 8. She does tape after tape after tape and has had some recalls, pencils and director meets. After all this hard work, she has only done two short films. She loves it and is able to ‘tape and forget’ so never dwells on the lack of success. Soon she will hit the ‘dead zone’ and get no tapes because they will go to small young looking 16 year olds out of license. But if she wants to do it as a job as an adult, at least she knows how hard it is. I know of one 4 year old getting work and that’s it. Like others have said, most are very small 7+ year olds. It’s a good industry to be a tiny child (mine is not).

at 4, let her do local fun acting and drama classes. She’s so little. If she likes it and is doing well then look into agencies when she’s 7 or 8. There is lots of info available on Facebook to ensure you don’t apply to any scam ones. 4 is so tiny. There is no rush.

My 15 year old has done a bit of acting. All classes for little ones are fun, you don't teach serious acting/dance/music to 4 year olds. Stagecoach and Pauline quirke academy are both good drama schools. When your dc is older, follow your local theatre on Facebook to find out about auditions for pantomime etc. Ds was an extra in a film because they were filming in our local park and it was advertised on our local Facebook page that they needed extras.

@LNAME dd loved drama from an early age. She went to Stage Coach aged 5 (ish). Total.waste of money but she loved it and oy gave me a free Saturday afternoon.

She has a trained voice, grade 8 and more and rakes it in singing at weddings.

She did A'Level Drama and read a humanity subject at Cambridge where she got involved with footlights.

She is a qualified secondary teacher, we insisted. She will always get work. She has done RADA (expensive) l. She is going to start a speech and language therapy masters which plugs into the drama/voice.
Getting married next year and wants children.

Very gently, we are very wealthy, she's had every opportunity to follow the dream and paid acting jobs are few and far between. I really think you need to get a grip and I say that as a parent of a quite talented young person.

Mine started acting through PQA , it has an agency which they joined. One then met an indie producer and works for them now and again. One did some casting calls and some tv work and ditched it for illustration later.

Also op - twins. The vast majority of young characters on screen are played by twins, because singletons alone simply aren't allowed to work enough hours. I'm a registered chaperone & the rules are pretty strict.

Search for a local acting/stage/drama group.
One of my GDs attends weekly and has blossomed with confidence. She has done some LAMDA exams and had a few singing lessons. But doesn't have the confidence in her voice to sing alone on stage. She did it once for the experience and then dropped the singing lessons. They all find their niche and she has made many friends when attending holiday camps run by the organisers.
Several of the original children who joined when it opened have now been accepted to university and during their time with the group applied to local amateur dramatic clubs for parts in local plays, musicals and operatic societies.
But be warned if you are hopeful that she will do serious stuff - then it costs money - quite a bit of money! Members are encouraged to audition for productions run by the organisers. If successful, you pay for the performance t-shirts with your childs' name on, you also pay a fee for each practise/rehearsal session, pay for costumes or hire of costumes as well the commitment to attending all sessions relating to the performances. It is a huge commitment of time and willingness for the next six months or whatever it takes to take part in the next big production. This is hard for younger children to gets to grip with and understand. If your DC shows natural ability then they will love it or it will kill it for them.

Most 4 year olds are dramatic and enjoy singing dancing etc - it’s called age appropriate play - why do you want to make that enjoyable experience become ‘work’?

This is about you. Not your child.

My 2 year old was on tv, you need to sign her up to an agency. Do you have Facebook ? You will get better advice on there than here

This

From repulsive pushy parents

let your child be a child

It isn’t about where four year old actors come from. It’s about where they end up! Being dramatic isn’t the same as being a successful adult actor.

Your whole post raises alarm bells to me. You want her to do “something more serious”. You are asking where the “kids in films get selected from”. It’s pretty transparent what you’re pushing her towards (and what it is you are really after).

She is 4. Why does she need to do anything seriously? Maybe she really likes “her little class each week” (despite your obvious disdain for it), and even if she says she wants to do more, it’s your job as her parent to give her an actual childhood - so let her develop her passions, whilst also being a little kid.

No good comes from being a child star. Find one famous person who was first famous under the age of 10 who is a happy, well rounded person.

Watch improv classes at stage school with young adults - they look like they are messing about. Many improv skills are built by playing games, but also young actors need to listen and take direction so there will be lots of that.

Poor kid

Pushy parents

I work in the industry and everyone is correct that we avoid kids under 6 (or 9 even) wherever possible because they can’t shoot for as many hours as older kids and it’s a scheduling nightmare. Also for confidence/performance reasons. I’d let your daughter do it for fun and if there comes a point where she tells you she wants to do it more seriously, or someone from the classes suggests she’d be good at that, then you could pursue a more professional route. From experience there’s two types of child actor/families - pushy parents and miserable kids, and kids who genuinely adore it (but they’re usually a lot older). Being on set is very boring and very long. Kids are stuck in random holding rooms with chaperones or tutors and acting very briefly. And yes re agents - it’s normally connections sadly, but I’m sure there are other ways / cold email possibilities.

They are 10+ and have spent a few years training or they ai these

Agencies.
Looking the part- usually 'cute'
Natural confidence.
Parent already confident in the industry.
Living in the right place - usually London but sometimes other cities eg Birmingham, manchester where the productions are based

Not from dragging a 4 year old to London.