Miley seems to be one of the few in this bunch of star kids whose parents have some career other than her. I mean, Billy Ray hadn't really been in the public eye much between Achy Breaky Heart and Hannah Montana, but he still had those royalties and stuff, and it looks like he did have a bunch of songs in between that got some decent airplay on the country charts. With Britney Spears and Lindsey Lohan, on the other hand, it seems like the kids' careers are the only thing the parents have.

hey Kat, did you get my other email this morning?

I've decided that the red flag for exploiting kid performers is pretty simple: is the family on the payroll.

Isn't that true of every kid performer? I don't even think being the family breadwinner is a sure bet to be fucked-up -- look at Sarah Jessica Parker. She may or may not have been exploited, but she never flipped out.

I think Hil's point is a good one, that Miley was hardly the only way the Cyruses were getting dinner on the table. Most of the other Disney kids, though...

It seems like parents are going to have to be more involved/careful (whatever) if they have a kid who is a performer. My nephew has a friend who is a child actor and who has been cast in a couple of series -- when he's over at my sister's house, there's a long list of things he's not allowed to do, and what she must do if anything happens -- because the studio doesn't want the kid to get bruised or otherwise marked.

And so even if nothing happens, the kid is still aware that there's a sort of hyper-awareness surrounding him. And that mother pretty much had a full time job making sure of all this.

Sox, yes! THANK YOU! Also I'm wading through my inbox and sent you an answer to an older email.

And so even if nothing happens, the kid is still aware that there's a sort of hyper-awareness surrounding him. And that mother pretty much had a full time job making sure of all this.

That's the parents choice though. Some parents nod and smile and if the kid gets a bruise deal with it then. I've known both kinds.

When I was a kid, I had a few friends who did theatre stuff, but I think that Broadway is a different environment for kids than TV or movies. Also, none of them were the breadwinner for their families by any means -- most of the money got put into their college funds.

I saw an interview with the guy who played Theo on The Cosby Show where he said that his mother always made him come along to any meeting with the accountant or manager or anything to do with the money he was earning. He thought it was really boring at age 14, but his mother said that she didn't want him to ever say that he didn't know what happened to his money.

Brilliant candidate for plastination.