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I was forced to be a child star. It was never my dream or my idea

wilwheaton.net

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Re: I was forced to be a child star. It was never my dream or my idea

#251

Post by Kaze404 »

throw0101a wrote: post #236

See also Jennette McCurdy of iCarly fame: * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VY63dB6-Uwk For an idea on how badly she thought about the child stardom, she named her memoir I'm Glad My Mom Died : > Jennette McCurdy was six years old when she had her first acting audition. Her mother’s dream was for her only daughter to become a star, and Jennette would do anything to make her mother happy. So she went along with what M…

It probably doesn't help either that her biggest role was a Dan Schneider show of all people.

Re: I was forced to be a child star. It was never my dream or my idea

#252

Post by simonh »

wahern wrote: post #33
irjustin wrote: post #8

Wow Will was such a part of my childhood watching Star Trek. Obviously, he didn't appear often but he was memorable simply because there were so few people as young as him on the show. Sad to hear this all around. This also brought back memories of me being required to play piano growing up. I hated piano, performing (recitals), playing in general. I was terrrribbleee (still am) and was put up in lessons for 12 years…

> Music is a very "asian" or "chinese" thing to put your child through. Asian culture simply adopted American and English culture in this regard. In the United States circa 1950s and 1960s it was very common for children to be taking piano lessons, and owning a piano was also relatively common. Both the lessons and the piano itself were important status symbols, and having both were considered markers of being middle…

My daughters took piano lessons and it really didn't work out, they never really enjoyed it and when the pandemic hit that was it. In retrospect I think having them do grades was a mistake. They enjoyed music and one of them even started a band with friends at school, but doing the grades was a grind. If they'd taken just fun lessons learning different types of music I think thing would have worked out very differently.

Re: I was forced to be a child star. It was never my dream or my idea

#253

Post by rbanffy »

sdoering wrote: post #110
osrec wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I imagine that airing it out on TV is somewhat cathartic for him; perhaps also a way in which to get closure on the topic. I also feel like he wants to inflict some of the pain he felt back on his parents, and embarrassing them on TV is the only way to make them take notice. I doubt it's going to do much to heal their relationship, but reading the post, I doubt either party is interested in a reconciliation.

I recommend reading about his Star Trek experience. Because in 'Still just a geek' he describes how unseen by the writers he felt. While his fellow cast was great to him the writers didn't seem to understand the innards of a teenager between adults much and so he actually did not get closure from "airing it out". The book is quite interesting and I enjoyed him reading it very much. Even if it was quite heavy in parts…

In that context, I’d love a spin off with his character as it was depicted now (being careful not to give too many spoilers). The topic could be brought up the same way Patrick Steward’s own childhood experiences informed the plot. Wesley’s relationship with his mom is very different of course, but, if he wants to share some of it, I’d be happy to be the audience.

Re: I was forced to be a child star. It was never my dream or my idea

#254

Post by trbleclef »

ludston wrote: post #140
bobthepanda wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

also, I feel like piano and violin are the very classic choices for parents picking out music education for their kids, when there is so much more than that to the world of music. I absolutely hated every single moment of piano and never really got good at it. It was a different story once I got selected for a chorus in school.

It's quite possible that the musical skills you picked up from your piano lessons are reason why you had the "talent" to picked for your schools chorus.

As HN's only? lurking non-swe choral director I'll just pipe in and say that every school should have a chorus that anyone can be in without being "picked", in addition to any auditioned levels. You can learn to sing the same way you can learn any other subject/skill; that is to say it's entry-level.

Re: I was forced to be a child star. It was never my dream or my idea

#256

Post by mwcampbell »

andris9 wrote: post #169
nicolas_t wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's something me and my wife struggle with now that we have a child. We both wish we had been pushed more when it comes to music lessons. So, we think we will try to get him to learn piano or an other instrument (except violin). However, we will most likely put a time limit, if after 3 years he still doesn't really like it, he can give it up. The idea, is that I think that for certain things like music, it only re…

My wife had this idea that we had our kids learn less-popular instruments. Viola instead of violin, harpsichord instead of piano. Playing piano is super competetive, you could put a lot of effort into it and still there are so many better players than you. In comparison the local harpsichord community is very happy to have a new member, everybody is supportive and it is much easier for the kids.

I'm not a parent, but I would be concerned about doing anything that's likely to get the kid branded a weirdo, particularly when they reach the social gauntlet of American middle school and high school (if that's applicable for you). I suppose I'm particularly sensitive to that because my disability (partial blindness) made me an attractive choice for other kids to pick on, and nobody chose that for me.

Re: I was forced to be a child star. It was never my dream or my idea

#257

Post by heyflyguy »

Tough read. Part of getting older seems like letting go of these bothersome memories and loving someone in spite of it. I hurt for this family that may never reconcile. The mom wants to believe she did right and won't apologize. Wil wants her to admit what really happened, which she may never do.

She'll die someday and this may still be unresolved, which is the real tragedy.

Being the bigger person isn't always easy, it's like dealing with a drunk parent. Their behavior is atrocious, it creates conflict, it is unacceptable for little kids.

Eventually you can learn to love them while not approving of their behavior. I hope this happens in Wil's case.

Re: I was forced to be a child star. It was never my dream or my idea

#258

Post by rbanffy »

mavhc wrote: post #15
BarryMilo wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People don't want to believe. I try to explain to my friends why I won't watch anything with children as prominent characters, but they generally don't want to hear it, because "Stranger Things is so good" or something. Hollywood is the land of depravity and abuse. It's no place for children.

And Stranger Things isn't good, it's just a mashup of 80s films that are at least twice as old as the actors, no original ideas at all. The problem is more celebrity rather than the filming process. Make it illegal to report any "news", ie gossip, about anyone under 18 for a start.

> it's just a mashup of 80s films

That’s precisely what I enjoy about the show. But, then, kids working in such a competitive (and often depraved) environment is a major concern. Directing kids is a huge responsibility many directors shouldn’t be allowed to have.

Re: I was forced to be a child star. It was never my dream or my idea

#259

Post by JohnWhigham »

manmal wrote: post #11
irjustin wrote: post #8

Wow Will was such a part of my childhood watching Star Trek. Obviously, he didn't appear often but he was memorable simply because there were so few people as young as him on the show. Sad to hear this all around. This also brought back memories of me being required to play piano growing up. I hated piano, performing (recitals), playing in general. I was terrrribbleee (still am) and was put up in lessons for 12 years…

Clarification: I‘m talking about self-actualization & leisure time here, not chores. > What is a healthy amount of pushing vs too much? There is no healthy amount of pushing, period. If you stop applying pressure, children will find their own thing, and that’s the best outcome for them. Just make sure they know the possibilities of what they could do. What would you have liked to do instead of learning piano? Did you…

Children left to their own devices nowadays would just endlessly scroll Tiktok. They don't have the mental capacity to stop otherwise.

Re: I was forced to be a child star. It was never my dream or my idea

#260

Post by em-bee »

Gordonjcp wrote: post #243
em-bee wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

there is no line, that's up to everyone for themselves. if you can't find what you need to forgive then that is sad for you because you still feel pain and you haven't found a way to make the pain go away. and i feel for you and i wish i could help you. i am not trying to suggest that you need to forgive in order to feel better. i don't think it works that way. but rather, you need to feel better before you can forgi…

> you can't find what you need to forgive then that is sad for you because you still feel pain and you haven't found a way to make the pain go away So if I decided that I'd chop your legs off for a laugh, you'd be able to find a way to forgive that?

maybe if being in a wheelchair spares me from being drafted into a war where you die a gruesome death...
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