it's good imo.
better than being indifferent, anyway.
from today's sun - picture at link.
Pushiest mum in Britain?
By SALLY BROOK
MEET mum Teresa Briggs whose four children – all under 12 – are signed up with a showbiz agency and working towards careers in entertainment.
Teresa is one of a growing number of pushy parents who drive their offspring to the limit at stage and dance schools all over the UK.
But are they really giving their kids the best chance in life — or robbing them of a precious childhood?
Teresa has high hopes for Jazmine, 11, Maize, nine, and Reggie, six, who are all cutting their teeth on modelling and advertising work.
Even two-year-old Millie Ruby is signed to an agency and Teresa is confident she will follow in their footsteps.
Jazmine is a keen dancer and her mum expects her to be a TV presenter.
But Teresa’s fierce ambition for her children is not always appreciated.
Other mums at Jazmine’s dance contests tell her to “give it a rest” but Teresa retorts: “Why pay £14 entrance if you are not there to win?
“If Jazmine is dancing badly, I say, ‘Jaz, that was c**p. If you are not going to make an effort we might as well just go home.’ ”
Jazmine, who has been in a number of adverts, including a TV commercial for Clarks shoes, feels the pressure.
Teresa, 32, says: “On Saturday mornings Jaz never wants to get up so I have to really get on her case. She will thank me one day.”
Teresa, who is on benefits after splitting from her husband last year, also expects Maize to go into the entertainment business.
Maize has appeared in an Asda ad with Julie Walters but is shy and often doesn’t want to attend castings.
Teresa, of Welwyn Garden City, Herts, says: “I use blackmail. If she does an advert in the morning, for example, I tell her she can have the afternoon off school.”
She believes Reggie will light up a future stage.
He recently earned £3,500 for two days work on a pizza advert.
She says: “He worked hard on that, getting up at 5am. They had to give him Smarties to keep him awake.”
But for Teresa, it’s all worthwhile, even though her children miss a lot of school.
She says: “They are all more confident and the money is good — at least £90 a day. It all goes into their bank accounts.
“If I thought I was wasting my time I’d let them stop. I am doing it all for them.”
The Briggs family feature in Pushy Parents? on ITV1 tonight, at 8.30pm.
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