Think your baby or child is cute enough to be a model? So did I – which is why I got both my kids into modeling and acting at an early age. I figured they were young enough not to feel pressured by unrealistic beauty standards and would be able to earn a few bucks for college. Here’s my two cents on breaking in, staying in and whether it’s worth it.

• Don’t live in NY or L.A.? No problem. Even smaller towns need catalog models. In fact, a friend of mine recently told me, “I did a little modeling as a kid in the booming metropolis of Eugene, Oregon.” Simply go online and Google modeling agencies or talent agencies in your city.
• Most agencies will allow you to submit online. They don’t expect professional photos. Babies and children grow so quickly that investing in professional photos early on is a waste of time and money. Most agencies will ask for a close-up of your child’s face and a body shot. No costumes, hats, face paint or distracting accessories. No crying faces or anything too silly. They will ask information like clothing size, shoe size, weight, hair and eye color, etc. Most will get back to you immediately.
• Submitting photos to an agency should never cost you money. No reputable company will ever charge you a fee.
• Don’t get discouraged quickly. My friend’s son, Gabriel (pictured at the top of the article) was rejected by every agency in town when he was a baby. Every agency, that is, until the the last one they tried. All it takes is one. Gabriel has been working steadily now for over 8 years.
• Rejected? Resubmit again later. Quite often, an agency might have one or two clients already who are the same “type” as your child. Say your child is a blonde, female toddler and they already have 2 blonde female toddlers, they probably won’t take you. But feel free to resubmit every 3 to 6 months because…
• There is a high turnover in this industry. Parents who expect get-rich-quick easy success often give up after a short while. Or if their kids don’t want to cooperate or aren’t having fun, they move on. So while there may not have been an opening for a child who looks like yours a few months ago, there may be now.
• All kinds of looks and ethnicities are welcome. Many years ago, a close friend of mine worked for a children’s talent agency in Los Angeles. At that time, the people who were casting wanted to definitively look at a child and know if he was caucasian, African-American, Asian, etc. In today’s market, a child who is multi-ethnic is not only welcomed, but desired.
• Don’t show up at the agency in person. After my son was accepted by an agency, I stopped by the office in person – baby in tow – to drop off updated photos. I have to say that this was not really appreciated. No harm came of it, but my goal of winning over the office staff with my adorable child did not work (even though he was adorable).
• For babies, twins/triplets/multiples tend to get the most work. Think about it – one baby gets cranky and starts crying? No problem! Simply bring in its lookalike!
• Often, many babies are hired when only one is needed. My daughter was hired to be a “back-up baby” for a national commercial. She was #10 on the list of babies, so the chance of her being on camera was slim – all nine babies before her would’ve had to have burst into tears for her to land the lead. But I was told stories of times when every single baby hired had a meltdown (crying can be contagious, you know). That day, we basically just sat around a lot and chatted with other parents as the commercial was filmed in the other room. This was about ten years ago. My daughter made $500 for 3 hours work. The baby who got the lead made $40k plus money every single time the ad ran.
• Expect short notice. You may get a call at 7pm at night telling you about an audition the next morning and you will be expected to go. And don’t even think of bringing your child’s siblings along. Can’t find child care? That’s not the agency’s problem, it’s yours. Got plans already? A job to go to? A life of your own? Um, not anymore.
• Expect long car rides. It is not unusual to drive an hour to get somewhere (with a crabby kid in tow, or one that falls asleep just as you’re pulling up to your destination). Then you may wait in line for another hour with countless other adorable kids. Once it’s your turn, you are seen for only a few seconds where they take a quick snapshot and that’s it. Then you’re back in the car driving home for another hour home, crabby kid in tow, only to hit bumper-to-bumper traffic. Repeat again and again with no callbacks or results.
• Some jobs don’t pay money. I was able to land my daughter more than one professional modeling gig where we weren’t paid in money, but products. These jobs, found on Jen’s List (not through an agency) got her face in catalogs, featured on websites, and on a national toy box. I figured that building a portfolio was important… but I can’t say that the jobs did anything for her “career.”
• Expect to wait around a lot. Acting and modeling can be incredibly unglamorous. When my son was little, he did a commercial for a national bank. Most of the day we sat around in a trailer, where I tried to keep him entertained. For a Disney promotional video he did, we sat around at Disneyland (very early in the morning, before the park was open) for hours on end while doing nothing. (And no, we weren’t allowed to go on rides.) My son was cut from the final product both times, so while we could still keep the credits, there was no footage to show and no residual money to be earned.
• Not all people you work with will be a joy to you. At one photo shoot, the photographer was single, childless, and made it clear to her colleagues that she didn’t really care for children. Nice, huh? She became increasingly frustrated when my daughter wouldn’t follow her directions and “smile naturally” when prompted. Finally, discouraged, she asked me to step forward and talk to my child. I was able to get the smile they were looking for by telling my daughter that we were going to leave soon and I would buy her gummi bears for the way home. The words “gummi bears” achieved the smile pictured in the catalog photo to the left.
•  Kids won’t always cooperate. Many kids just don’t want to do what’s told of them, especially if they’re asked to do the same thing over and over again. They are not trained seals, after all. Keep at it if your child is passionate about the work or young enough to just enjoy spending time with you, even on long car rides to auditions that go nowhere.
•  Success does not come easy. As with any endeavor, persistence is what counts. Of course luck does play a part, but keeping at it is just as important.
•  You can always comes back to it later. Kids tend to outgrow things. While ballet may be fun to a three year-old, a thirteen year-old may be ready for hip-hop. Acting and modeling fell by the wayside for my kids, but my daughter, now 11, has expressed an active interest in getting back in again, so we’re sending around photos and will see what happens…

Are you considering modeling or acting for your child?