DEBATE: Should there be restrictions on child performers?

You can’t restrict talent Let’s face the facts; the major reason why parentswill do anything just to get school fees for their children is because they want them to have education as a guarantee for a better life when they are all grown up. However, if someone drops out of university then gets famous and rich; I doubt there is a parent who will be mad because they didn’t get rich through school knowledge. We are in an era where the creative industry is earning way more than traditional jobs like engineering and medicine, among others. None of this begins at an old age, just like someone has to go through many classes from primary one onwards, they also have to start nurturing their talent at a young age and if restrictions are put, then we are limiting creativity. Going to school and living a normal life like any other child is basically supposed to give a child a foundation of general knowledge and it helps them know how to behave before other children. At a certain age, they understand and are ready to take on their creative career, and it shouldn’t be bogged down by restrictions. In the end, education is designed to prepare children for their adult lives and careers. Working in a profession like acting, or training as a football player may be a better preparation for some children’s future than school-based learning. I know the art industry in Rwanda isn’t as developed as that in the West but this is precisely the reason why: we kill our young talent by first taking them through a “normal life” and asking them to focus on school and less on music or sport or art. Talent only comes to be an asset to someone when they nurture it without holding back. Take a quick look at the movie actors and actresses in Hollywood like RavenSymonè who started acting at the age of five in the movie Ghost Dad. Her role in Thecosby Show was astounding and by the time she acted That’s so raven, we couldn’t help but admire her extraordinary talent. Now, can you imagine if Raven had started acting at the age of 25? Support from friends, teachers and family without restrictions helps a child master their art. Need I say, ‘practice makes perfect’ and talent development comes with mistakes and lessons. At a tender age, they get to learn and have many more years of mastering and practice. Their talent becomes second nature to them. If someone has found their calling at a tender age, the parent should develop it and wish a child happiness and success and leave every stereotype in the 19th and 20th century and focus on developing their child’s talent. patrick.buchana@newtimes.co.rw Limit any form of child labour I really enjoy movies with a child as the star in the movie and I have to say, my favourite of all time is My Girl. But given the kind of childhood these child stars encounter, that comes with being famous, I really recommend restrictions on child performers. Honestly speaking, this is also a form of child labour. But with restrictions in place, there is a limit to any kind of child labour! I stand to be corrected, but most child performers never enjoy their childhood. They are robbed of their childhood. While other children are busy enjoying games or playing whatever they wish to play, for a child performer, he or she is either busy cramming lines in a movie, lyrics or scheduling for an interview. Such co-curricular activities for a child usually limit a child from fully attending formal education given its importance in life. We would all want to live the superstar life, but if it can break an adult who has had some kind of experience with life, let’s for a minute think what it can do to a child. The other reason why I feel that there should be restrictions in place to protect child performers is because in most cases, they attain responsibilities at a tender age and miss out on being children themselves. Their families look up to them as a source of survival. For example many publications have indicated that Michael Jackson constantly attributed his obsession with children and childhood as a consequence of having missed out on a childhood himself. In a publication tilted “The very real dangers of pushing kids too hard” by Fred Fornicola, the author advised parents against over pushing children. He indicated that we must recognise that a lot of today’s young athletes are self-driven, while others, let’s be honest, seem to have competition thrust upon them. Parents, who were athletes themselves or are trying to make up for their failed athletic youth, attempt to live through their children and push their kids even to a point of injuring them. We even see it in the professional arena when players suffer a concussion one week and are back on the playing field the next and, somehow, this represents the heart of a warrior. As we all know children don’t have the capacity to make informed decisions, hence people with ill driven motives such as agents most especially if the parents are not knowledgeable about these issues, the agents or some opportunistic parents are likely to exploit the child performers. But if there are restrictions in place, child performers are then protected from any kind of exploitation, thus they entertain us responsibly. doreen.umutesi@newtimes.co.rw

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DEBATE: Should there be restrictions on child performers?