Are the children okay? is the Yahoo Entertainment video interview series exploring the effects of show business on the development and wellbeing of retired child entertainers, from triumphs to trauma.

Alyson Stoner remembers exactly how it felt when it all got too much.

Stoner, best known at the time as the little girl who broke a train in Missy Elliott’s “Work It” video and played one of Steve Martin’s young daughters in Cheaper by the Dozen, checked into rehab shortly thereafter to treat an eating disorder. She was only 17 years old.

“As someone who really built an identity to achieve my goal and perform consistently, it was very overwhelming to reach a burnout level where my body and mind seemed to give up on me and I couldn’t . ” show yourself and do my job, “Stoner told Yahoo Entertainment.” Now, from a different perspective, it was of course my body and mind that screamed for neglect and that time in therapy as well as rehab was monumental for my own development, but also crucial for longevity. Wouldn’t I have left? If I had left later, I might not have made it. “

At 27, Stoner had time to look back on the experience of fame at a young age and the effects it had on it. She didn’t like much of what she found. Now, Stoner is committed to advocating for kids who work in the industry, and even detailed what she’s been through in an essay for People this month. In the first episode of Are the Kids Alright ?, a new Yahoo Entertainment series about ex-child entertainers, she talked about the problems and possible solutions to what she calls the “toddler to the wreck of the industrial complex”.

The biggest problem with children in the entertainment industry, according to Stoner, is that they are not viewed as people who are not yet fully educated. You will be seen like any other employee. While struggling with it, Stoner reveals that she has also encountered allies.

The story goes on

“I want to make it clear that Missy Elliott and most of the people I’ve worked with are wonderful. … Depending on the set, some adults will treat you appropriately like a child. Other adults will treat you like a child with- Adult and colleague, “she explains.

“I’ll say Bonnie Hunt is one of the most beautiful people on planet Earth. She has given each of us children on Cheaper by the Dozen such a nurturing and nourishing maternal presence. We’re still in touch. She has been in our wellbeing, invested in our craft and development and provided us with a safe place to be our ages and have healthy interactions. So I am forever grateful for them. ”

Alyson Stoner, bottom left, stands next to her castmates for the sequel to “Cheaper by the Dozen”. Photo: 20th Century Fox Film Corp.)

But that wasn’t the norm.

“On other sets,” she says. “I’ve had adults who offered me a cigarette when they left for their smoke break.”

Stoner wants clear regulations, child labor laws, and set protocols. Her essay, as well as recent documentaries on the dangers of living in the spotlight of young people like Framing Britney Spears, Demi Lovato’s Dancing With the Devil, and Soleil Moon Fryes Kid 90, helped spark a conversation Stoner hopes only the Beginning is.

“Since I published my essay, there have been numerous people from previous projects, as well as other child actors … making the effort. And you can imagine that each of us is at different stages of healing and processing,” says Stoner. “Some of us are still in the industry. Others have moved in different directions. Some of us want to participate and use our voice to advocate for new generations. Others are very afraid of the consequences. So my goal is to to really do this. ” Honor the realities and needs of everyone and … create a core group that can proactively reach out to the union to have this conversation. “

She adds that it is important to her that such a conversation include people who have never seen fame.

“Most of the artists, most of the young actors, paid the cost and didn’t get the quote,” she says.

– Video produced by Jen Kucsak and edited by Jimmie Rhee

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