Here's How to Support Your Child's Dream of Being a Social Media Influencer


Kyle Richards' 10-year-old daughter Portia Umansky dreams of being a YouTube star. How should The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills mom handle it?

By Marianne Garvey

Kyle Richards and her 10-year-old daughter, Portia Umansky, love doing makeup together. They even took to YouTube to show how they bond over Portia applying mom's glam face — she's good, too!

Portia's passion for all things beauty is starting to get noticed, too. As we learned on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills this season, a kids' makeup line reached out to Kyle after seeing Portia doing her mom's makeup on Instagram and asked her to star in their holiday campaign, along with Teddi Mellencamp Arroyave's daughter, Slate.

"Portia is very good at makeup, and she would love to be a YouTube star or a makeup artist," Kyle said on RHOBH. "And I'm gonna embrace every talent that she has and support her."

So with the potential to become an influencer in Portia's future, how should Kyle handle it? Is there a rule book to follow when it comes to this kind of work for kids? Is there a way to guide your kid into having a successful career as an influencer?

The Washington Post reports that since becoming a YouTube star seems more accessible than aiming for Hollywood stardom, many parents and teachers are finding their kids and students ask to create their own YouTube channels "in the hopes of becoming famous." Not to mention making bank.

Here is what the report advises: "[It] depends on the child’s age, emotional maturity and reasons for wanting to put themselves out there. Before allowing a child to head down that path, here are some questions parents can ask: Why do you want to have a YouTube channel? What kinds of videos do you want to create? What are your favorite YouTube channels? What do you like about them? Are there any YouTube channels you don’t like? What don’t you like about them?"

While YouTube is intended for users who are at least 13 years of age because Google, its parent company, collects and markets user data, many younger children still have channels because the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act isn't really being enforced. WaPo says one option is to have "your child use your account and make all uploads through you. This would allow you to supervise the channel, but you may find it cumbersome to share an account with your child."

Finally, the report advises parents to create and write down an exact plan of action if you are going to allow your kid to have a channel. Discuss in lengthy detail fame, backlash, money, and content. Launch it slowly, turn off all comments, and continue to check the channel regularly and offer feedback from an adult perspective.

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