'Full House' star Jodie Sweetin says key to child star success is parents who aren't fame-hungry
The lives of many child stars are often filled with misfortune and hardship.
Jodie Sweetin is speaking from experience when she says she's identified a consistent factor among child stars who have seen success.
"When you see the kids that grew up in this business that turned out to be fairly normal, well-rounded people, they all have really normal parents, who didn’t want to be in the business themselves," she told TODAY.com.
Sweetin, who starred as Stephanie Tanner on the beloved sitcom "Full House" for eight seasons, from ages 5 to 13, says many parents are often projecting their own unfulfilled dreams onto their children in the industry, which causes problems.
"They’re like, ‘I tried to be famous, but it didn’t work out, so now it’s your turn," Sweetin suggested. The actress, now 41, says people have even confided in her, admitting, "I had a kid because I wanted them to be famous."
Sweetin says her own parents, Sam and Janice, were not fame-hungry.
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Sweetin saw great success, but ultimately still struggled. Her battle with addiction has been highly documented in the media. She is now sober and a certified drug and alcohol counselor.
The actress, who reprized her role as Candace Cameron Bure's little sister on the Netflix spinoff "Fuller House," says she worries about child stars of this era.
"I can’t imagine being one of those kids on a big network show that gets all of the attention and all of the criticism. And people are worrying about who you’re dating, and what you look like," Sweetin said.
"When I was 9, I had teeth coming out of every direction," she added. "I was very self-conscious of it at the time, and if that had been the thing that was getting made fun of online? That would have destroyed me."