Without wanting to sound too melodramatic, rejection is a part of life. Of course, your child (depending on their age), may not be aware of this yet. Learning to accept rejection is a key part of growing up. It is highly unlikely that your child will have a modeling career without being rejected, and as such, it is very important to know how to cope with it.
Don’t Get Frustrated
Trying to make headway in child modeling can seem like swimming against a strong current at times. However, rejection does not have to be seen as taking one step forward and two steps back. Explain to your child that “making it” in modeling is a process. In order to progress you have to go through a series of steps. These steps may feature rejection, but can ultimately lead to success with patience and persistence.
Adjust Your Tactics
This is not always the case, but rejection may suggest that there is room for improvement in the way that you are presenting your child. Agencies and clients, in their rejections, may make suggestions. If you have received any constructive feedback, then take it on board. Check out our articles on building a portfolio. However, changing tack is not necessarily a prerequisite to success. You may simply have to remain patient, and try again in the future.
It Isn’t Personal
Make sure your kid knows that rejection from an agency or a client does not make him or her a failure. If an agency knows that their clients are looking for specific types of children in the near future, and your kid does not fit into that bracket, then it would be pointless to take him or her on. The best remedy to simply not being a good “fit” for an agency or client at any given time is to make sure that you are giving your child the best possible exposure on as a many fronts as possible.
Support & Encouragement
It is vital that you consider the potential emotional impact of rejection on your child. He or she must understand that rejection is not something that they have necessarily caused. It isn’t because they are not good, pretty or handsome enough. There’s every chance that the casting director on the day wanted a 5 year old blond rather than a 6 year old red head, or that the agency already has too many 6 year old red heads on their books for it to be worth your time.
What is most important is making sure that your kid does not consider child modeling to be all there is to life. In such circumstances, the impact of rejection will be greatly magnified. If your child leads a balanced life with varied interests, then rejection in any one area does not need to have a major impact.
Having said all that, if you feel that child modeling is becoming more of a burden in your kid’s life then a blessing, you need to think long and hard about your options. Guidance on this can be found in our article, “Is Child Modeling Worth It?”.
Creative Commons Images courtesy by Pink Sherbet Photography