Mom, dad: I want to be an artist
Some time ago a song called "Before Dead that Simple", of the young Spanish singer Mª Isabel and that the little ones danced and sang at all hours, enjoying with the self-confidence that came from the young artist. However, that meant the transmission of behaviors of older people ahead of time, motivating several minors to dress, dance, move or speak in a way that did not correspond to their childhood.
This means having as a reference another child who performs behaviors improper of what is expected at his age, which acquires certain fame, goes on TV and above is famous. In this case it will be difficult to ensure that our children do not want to copy their behavior to achieve the same results and achieve stardom in the same way that their hero has. In short, it is more than likely that at some point the youngest in the house will say: "Mom, dad: I want to be artist".
Models to imitate
At this point it can be difficult not to find it charming that our children want to be artists, however we must pay attention in the reference models they have the smallest ones since these may not be the most appropriate. For José Luis Calvo, vice president of the Association Pro Rights of the Child (Prodeni), it is not about preventing children from developing their artistic talents as it is positive early learning in education, culture (arts, sports ...) the boys and girls
Little by little, the boys and girls soon acquire the knowledge and skills that in adulthood can develop with full splendor and maturity. "Now, in the field we are dealing with, this early learning is contaminated because it does not occur naturally and methodically, but rather in imitation of adult models and they enter fully into the commercialization of art," says Calvo.
So, if a child has talent, you have to dress him up and encourage him to act like what he is: child. You should not submit to the movements, gestures, innuendo, choreography ... of adults, looking for commercial effectiveness, profitable spectacle. That is, you should not make the child an adult artist on a child scale since the child is deprived of his own expressiveness, naturalness. The makeup is exaggerated, the way of expressing oneself, the inconsequential and uneducated content of the letters etc.
The wardrobe must go according to his age and not the necklines, miniskirts of the adult artists, or gestures suggestive and provocative. It is not about Puritanism, it is about living each evolutionary stage according to the age of the person. Everything must happen according to the age the child is in, and skipping stages of the child's emotional and psychological development can have negative effects in the end.
As for the makeup, the right one for the appearances in television programs or in a school festival, without further additions or seeking extravagance. And the songs according to their evolutionary moment. Each age would have its treatment (it would be necessary to take care of it), it is not the same a girl of six years singing that a teenager of 15. The artist children should be models for children their age, and not a channel through which to transmit canons of famous adults.
Skipping stages
Sometimes we perceive the incoherence of a society in which the majority of its members want to always remain young. However also the times of childhood are shortened and they are given information about adults, responsibilities that are not appropriate for their age. We must be very careful so that their referents and the values they transmit to our children do not end up stealing their childhood.
The intervention of children in advertising for issues that are not their own, in television programs, on the catwalks is increasing. In this way we see children "stars" dressed as adults, who dance as adults, who behave like adults. Ultimately the little ones are seeing that their heroes are not children with child behaviors, but that act like adults, so they too will want to be like them.
This ultimately assumes skip stages of development emotional self of the children, of a manifest rupture of the innocence and simplicity of childhood. The age of childhood must be respected as such, this is not an impediment for children to participate promptly in any activity related to the artistic world, although this should not be the priority in their lives.
Marta Santín
Advice: José Luis Calvo, video-president of the Prodeni Association
