Editing Child actor (section)

===Competitive pressure===
Some people, such as child psychologists, developmental experts, and journalists, also criticize the parents of child actors for allowing their children to work, believing that more "normal" activities should be the staple during the childhood years.<ref>{{cite web|URL=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2000/nov/22/familyandrelationships.features103|title=Little darlings|last=Wheelwright|first=Julie|date=November 22, 2000|website=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=May 24, 2025|lang=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/in-showbiz-kids-alex-winter-weighs-the-costs-of-child-stardom|title=In “Showbiz Kids,” Alex Winter Weighs the Costs of Child Stardom|last=Pappademas|first=Alex|date=July 20, 2020|website=[[The New Yorker]]|access-date=May 24, 2025|lang=en}}</ref> Other industry advocates observe that competition is present in all areas of a child's life—from sports to student newspaper to orchestra and band—and believe that the work ethic instilled or the talent developed accrues to the child's benefit.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/huge-benefits-child-actor-6726/|title=5 Huge Benefits of Being a Child Actor|date=June 28, 2023|last=Reid|first=Jackie|website=[[Backstage (magazine)|Backstage]]|access-date=May 24, 2025|lang=en}}</ref>

The child actor may experience unique and negative pressures when working under tight production schedules. Large projects which depend for their success on the ability of the child to deliver an effective performance add to the pressure.{{citation needed|date=September 2018}}

[[Ethel Merman]], who several times worked in long-running stage productions with child actors, disliked what she eventually saw as their over-professionalization—"acting more like [[midget]]s than children"—and disapproved of parents pushing adulthood on them.<ref>Caryl Flinn in ’’Brass Diva, the Life and Legends of Ethel Merman’’ ISBN 978-0-520-22942-6 p. 360</ref>