Christy Carlson Romano, Frankie Muniz & Other Former Child Stars Reveal Their Thoughts on Letting Their Kids Enter the Industry

In light of the explosive new Quiet on Set documentary that shed a light on the toxic side of being a child actor, many former child stars-turned-parents are opening up about their thoughts on introducing their kids to the industry.

As a quick recap, Drake Bell revealed that he was sexually assaulted by Nickelodeon dialogue coach Brian Peck when he was a teenager. “I was sleeping on the couch where I usually sleep and I woke up to him … I opened my eyes and I woke up and he was … he was sexually assaulting me,” Bell, who was 15 at the time, said in Discovery’s docuseries. “And I froze and was in complete shock and had no idea what to do or how to react.”

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“And it just got worse, and worse, and worse, and worse, and I was just trapped,” the Drake & Josh alum continued. “I had no way out. The abuse was extensive, and it got pretty brutal. I often look back at that time and wonder how in the world I survived.”

It sounds absolutely horrifying, and even though she didn’t have the same experience, it’s no surprise that Christy Carlson Romano moved her kids out of Hollywood.

The Even Stevens alum is mom to daughters Isabella, 7, and Sofia, 5, with husband Brendan Rooney. She told PEOPLE on Sunday that it felt “right” to move her daughters to Austin, Texas. “I love that the girls can kind of be out of the Hollywood area,” the former Disney Channel star told the outlet. “I love California, we have our PodCo offices there. And I also truly feel at home in Austin. I have a really strong community of friends there, and I’ve really found a way to set down roots.”

Although the Kim Possible star didn’t explicitly say she didn’t want her daughters to be child actors, she did share that she enjoys “slower pace” of life in Texas, which “still has all the things that [the girls] could need.” Roano added, “I’m really happy that we live there.”

Frankie Muniz had a great experience as a child actor on the set of Malcolm in the Middle, but he still wouldn’t want his 3-year-old son Mauz to get into acting. He recently told PEDESTRIAN.TV on set of Australia’s I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here, per E! News, “I would never let my kid go into the business. He continued, “And not that I had a negative experience, because to be honest, my experience was 100 percent positive. But I know so many people, friends that were close to me, that had such insanely negative experiences.”

“And I just think it’s an ugly world in general. I never cared about rejection, but there’s a ton of rejection,” the NASCAR driver added.

In the past, other former child stars have shared their opinions on letting their kids act. Drew Barrymore, mom to Olive, 11, and Frankie, 9, told PEOPLE in 2018: “I’m not going to let them be kid actors.” The E.T. star added, “That’s so not their journey.”

“If they want to be actors [later] in life, I would be so supportive of it,” Barrymore went on. “Can you imagine me being [a] mom [who is] pushing her kids out there? That’s not going to happen.”

Sarah Michelle Gellar, who made her film debut at age 6, holds similar beliefs. She told The Hollywood Reporter in Jan. 2023 that her eldest daughter Charlotte, now 14, wants to be an actor. “Does it scare the sh*t out of me?” Gellar, who shares Charlotte and Rocky, 11, with husband Freddie Prinze Jr. asked. “Well, we have rules in place. She can’t be in front of a camera until she graduates high school. She says to me, ‘That’s unfair. You were a child actor.’ Yes, I was. But I was not the child of two famous parents.”

“I’ll never stop her from being on a set,” she continued. “But she’s just not going on camera while she’s living under our roof. There’ll be different expectations for her, so she needs to learn everything there is first.”

It may not seem fair, but if anyone knows about the challenges and struggles that come from being a child actor, it’s the former child actors themselves!

These celebrity kids want to follow in their parents’ footsteps.

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