We have talked about how a child actor has to be dedicated to their craft. How they have to be prepared and practice lines and take classes and memorize scenes and be personable and the list goes on and on….
But what about the sacrifices that a parent and family of a child actor must make? Having a child in the industry is a labor of love. You have your own list of responsibilities, and yes…sacrifices that you must make in order to fully support your child.
The first sacrifice is obviously financial. Parents are the ones paying for classes, headshots, casting profile subscriptions, gas and tolls and parking fees driving to and from auditions, babysitters for siblings, taking time off from work, buying special audition outfits, and other expenses associated with having a kid in the business. For some families, these expenses are no problem. For other families, it means scrimping and saving and budgeting. For some it means that if Sally gets acting classes, Jessica can’t get ballet lessons. If Alice gets new headshots, Billy can’t get new ice skates for his hockey team. This can easily cause resentment among siblings when one child is perceived to get special treatment that the other children are
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