The struggle is real for parents.

Once you pop out a kid, they spend the next 18 to 21 years mooching off you, or perhaps even longer, when they realise that an entry-level job hardly covers rent and the basics.

They’re especially needy when they’re infants – it’s all “feed me” and “I can’t sit up on my own”.

Luckily, if you’re willing to forego their personal and psychological safety, there’s now a way to turn your toddler into a money-making machine.

Parents in the US are spending up to or over $1 000 (over R15 000) to send their kids to camps that train them in the art of becoming an influencer.

Over to BBC:

Firetech Camp offers a five-day “Creating for YouTube – Become a YouTube influencer” course, which costs from £425.

“Last year it was one of our bestselling courses,” says Jill Hodges, Firetech chief executive.

“We see two different sets of kids who attend the course: those that see it as a hobby, and those who are gamers and want to create games on YouTube.”

Past course attendees have produced YouTube channels on topics such as plastic waste in the ocean, and fashion and make-up.

11-year-old Carmen Yager (above), who paid over $1 000 to attend a camp, had the following to say about her YouTube channel:

“I want to make it more popular,” she says. “Right now our only subscribers are our family and we want our channel to be like famous YouTubers where you have the feeling of walking down the street and people come up and say they like your YouTube videos. That’s an amazing accomplishment.”

As long as you’re also making time for reading, Carmen.

At least she is old enough to understand (sort of) what she’s doing.

Ralphie Waplington (sorry, kid – that’s a rough name) is two-and-a-half, and he already has almost 20 000 followers.

His page features pictures of him wearing gifted clothes, enjoying freebie trips and fronting posts sponsored by brands such as Peppa Pig and McDonald’s.

His parents, Stacey Woodhams and Adam Waplington, from Brentwood in Essex, set up the account in 2017 when he was just a couple of weeks old.

To put things into perspective, Ralphie can’t wipe his own arse, but he has more followers than you on Instagram.

He also – and here’s where things get interesting – has absolutely no way of consenting to what his parents are doing.

“While it is true that a small minority of children and families have found financial success, parents should exercise caution before encouraging their children to become kid influencers,” advises Dr Elizabeth Milovidov, an eSafety consultant and founder of DigitalParentingCoach.com.

“Parents need to be aware of the effects that constant photo snapping can have on a child’s mental, physical and emotional well-being.”

Then there are privacy concerns.

“We are hearing more and more about children and young people who do not want to have an online presence or who are faced with an online identity created by their parents.”

She also highlights issues such as bullying, grooming and identity theft, and advises parents to control the accounts and “determine which poses or activities may be considered too sensual; block and report comments; and guide their children in responsible and safe use in the digital world”.

The internet is dark and full of terrors, but that doesn’t seem to be enough to deter parents from using their children to rake in sponsorships and accumulate followers.

“The number of kid influencers is still in its infancy but will continue to grow,” says Laura Edwards, co-founder of Viral Talent, an agency that manages influencers and has over 40 young people on its books.

Ralphie’s mom doesn’t see a problem with sharing her kid with the internet.

“It’s no different to any mums posting on Facebook or WhatsApp,” she says. “There’s no rule book to parenting.”

But what if Ralphie decides when he’s older that he doesn’t want his pictures being shared with thousands of people?

“Then that’s the day it stops,” she says.

Ya, I’m sure you have 20 000 close personal friends who you trust with pictures of your child.

The problem with the internet is that once those pictures are online, they’re there for life.

Good luck, Ralphie.

[source:bbc]