There is an issue that the magic community barely talks about -if at all- despite the fact that it should be at the center of every serious discussion. It is not about tricks, techniques, or performances. It is about something far more important: children.
In recent years, we have seen more and more young children being presented as the “child prodigies” of modern magic. They appear on television talent shows and across platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. Their videos attract endless comments like “unbelievable,” “genius,” and “the best magician ever.” More often than not, many of those same people will have stopped paying attention a few years later, once the charm of childhood has faded.
But, just as in magic itself, there is something no one seems to notice. A question we avoid asking – or simply do not want to ask: Who truly benefits from all of this? The child, or the adults surrounding them?
Magic is an art form that -like every art form- takes time. Study, experimentation, reading, practice, personal exploration, and, above all, maturity. These are the things that shape you, not only as an artist but also as a human being. It is not a race to become famous at the age of eight or ten.
A child needs to play. A child must play. They need to get bored, experiment, change their mind, and make mistakes—without cameras pointed at them. But when every new trick becomes content, every rehearsal becomes a video, and every performance is reduced to view counts, the child’s relationship with the art begins to change.
Gradually, they no longer learn to love magic. They learn to chase approval. They become slaves of it before they are even old enough to develop the emotional tools to resist it.
Let me be clear:
The problem is not that a child performs magic. On the contrary, it is wonderful for a child to discover the art of magic and all the gifts it has to offer. And of course, there are wonderful parents who record their children simply out of love and pride, with no intention of exploiting them.
The problem begins when the child becomes the product. When there is constant pressure to upload new content. When their worth is measured in views. When the adults around them begin thinking more like content creators than parents or teachers.
The hypocrisy becomes evident in a contradiction that is difficult to ignore:
When someone offers constructive criticism of a performance, the response is often, “But they’re only a child!” or “What were you doing at that age?” Such responses reveal nothing but ego, denying children even the opportunity to grow through advice – or even through experiencing criticism. Indeed, they are only children.
And that is precisely why they should never be placed in a position where they are publicly judged by millions of people. You cannot present someone as a professional performer and then, the moment their artistic work is criticized, demand immunity because they are a child.
The problem is not criticism. The problem is not the child.
The real problem is the adult who turns a child into a product.
That adult robs the child of the chance to become a complete artist.
That adult robs the child of the joy of discovering life.
That adult robs the child of the right to simply be a child.