12 y.o dd just been scouted by top London model agency, isn't she too young?!

[seakelp]

A woman approached my dd and asked her if she'd been scouted before, she said no, she then gave her a card and I've checked the agency out, it's basically v. well known indeed.

My dd is only 12 though, surely it's a big mistake?

[JamieAgain]

Thankyou BornInAfrica

[JoySzasz]

What is good is that in recent years the industry is becoming better understood.

A few years back hardly anyone knew that you didn't have to pay money up front to have any chance,it seems many of you do now! :)

My Grandmother modeled,my Mother did,my sister did too!

Then...I married a male model ...I wonder(sometimes) if any of our kids will want to,and how I will feel in years to come?

[FabbyChic]

I think it is wrong to allow a 12 year old to model, they are weight obsessed and have to be skinny. It interfers with their schooling, it's a rocky road.

She should get an education first, then Uni, then consider modelling if she wants to.

[Laquitar]

I think 12 is a very bad age for modelling.

I wouldn't let my dds to do it.

[CaptainBizarro]

woraliberty - I'm not denying that the entertainment industry is rife with all sorts, eek, I'm not that naive. And I'm not saying that just because someone has a talent it's OK to exploit them.

I'd just rather that if any child of mine took their chances in a chew-em-up-and-spit-em-out sort of industry, it was one where they're getting kudos for actually being able to do something; where people are admiring their talent and appreciating their gift, so to speak. As opposed to one where you're judged on nothing but your looks and your weight.

At least at the end of it all, they'd be able to walk away with something tangible. Plus, being good at something like that means they've presumably worked hard, put the practice hours in, and honed their talent. Being good looking is just an accident of birth.

I don't expect anyone to agree with me, I'm just saying.....

[seakelp]

Long chat with dd, it turns out she has seen the c4 modelling series, as has my dh and sister! (I rarely watch tv ), so she is well aware of the pitfalls, which she tells me are many. She also knows it might not lead anywhere, so she's under no allusions.

What makes her laugh is that her hair was in a messy bun, sweaty face, (she doesn't wear make up) and it was her first trip to London (with friends, and dh), no, not Oxford St.

Her first reaction was to text me to check it out as she knows there are dodgy agencies out there. As I've said her friends were v excited and so she knows Monday will be interesting as they will have told people at school. We're talking about a small comprehensive here so it will be 'big' news . Luckily, dd is a v. popular girl so I'm going to find out what happens with interest.

There's a number to call to make an appointment, she wants me to so will call them Monday. Will keep you updated.

[hairfullofsnakes]

Good luck! Your girl sounds very grounded, that's great - always remind her to stay like that x

[Punkatheart]

She has natural beauty, clearly.

Make sure that you go with her for the appointment.

Good luck!

[hifi]

i was with a friends child when we were approached by select model agency, she was also 12 and shes nearly 6ft tall already!
friend took her for test shots and she has done some work for h and m, basically they get them on their books so no one else does and then wait till they are 14 to start working .

[Halogen]

Your daughter sounds like a really sensible girl, seakelp. Good luck to her if she decides to pursue it. If nothing else, I hope she'll come out of it with a nice little nest egg for university/car purchase/house deposit.

[LineRunner]

So we are sure that we are talking about fashion modelling.

Did anyone else find the Observer magazine cover and photos inside this weekend a bit weird? A very young, very tall and thin girl playing on a beach modelling clothes allegedly for women?

Size 4 all round, then.

[MABS]

did you make the call? good luck with it. dd was scouted at just 13 by Storm, have kept in touch and now at 16 has been signed, however her A levels and desire to go into the army! (more scary than modelling!) will mean she does very few shoots.

[seakelp]

Yes, made the call and said we'd wait until the summer holidays before taking it any further, I talked to the scout who gave her the card, she's very well known herself so it seems the whole process is now much more transparent. The reaction has been interesting (as even if nothing comes of it,) friends think she is built for it and some are not even surprised.

Thanks for all the advice and good wishes!

[wordfactory]

Agencies take on huge numbers of kids and then wait and see...little or no work comes in for quite a few years and the majority get dropped before they get any work. It's a numbers game.

As long as your DD won't be disappointed then why not?

[JoySzasz]

word yes,thats true.

Many teens get 'snapped' up very young,and then they start to develop and they are dropped.

Not for developing breasts etc...sometimes the face changes so much in that period and they are no longer that photogenic :(

thesecond I think the OP has been very relaxed actually :)

[grovel]

A friend of my DS (they're both at university) was "spotted" when he was 13. He does about 3 photoshoots a year (Jack Wills etc). He gets approx £2,000 a shoot. My DS has a holiday job as a waiter and would have to work 1,000 hours to make £6,000 a year.

[GollyHolightly]

I'd be very wary. Very few models earn much money, most barely make enough to live on especially if they're doing cat walk work. They are also extremely vulnerable to predators in the industry, especially if they're very young and impressionable.

[JoySzasz]

Ok thesecond didn't know that bit :)

golly where have you got your info from? :)

[GollyHolightly]

Can't remember exactly, I think it was a telly programme or an article in a sunday newspaper (credible broadsheet). This woman was a catwalk model for a year and found that she could barely subsist on the money she earned and was approached sexually by lots of (much) older men who were essentially in the industry just because it gave them easy sexual access to young beautiful women. I daresay that photographic modelling is much more lucrative.

[Bloodymary]

OP, your DD sounds a sensible girl, and if she wants to look into it in the summer holidays then I would let her.

I did a certain amount of modelling in my day and it was fun. It was the early seventies and I just had that look of the moment.

And there are NO pics on my lack of profile, it was way too long ago.
Plus I have posted on a few sensative to me subjects.

[JoySzasz]

golly Thanks.

I think it really depends where you model and what type.

My life as a model was very far away from horror stories:)