Goodbye Childhood

By now, Alec Greven is well-known across the nation. The 9-year-old sensation appeared on The Tonight Show, Late Night, and Ellen with his published self-help book, "How to Talk to Girls," which grew from a $3 school project he sold to classmates to New York Times best seller.

What some people may not know is that his young entrepreneurship didn't end there. Shortly after his advice book began selling well, Twentieth Century Fox quickly bought the rights for a movie adaption. He also recently released a new book cleverly titled, "How to Talk to Moms," and is working on follow-ups for Dads, Grandmothers and, yes, even Santa.

Beyond the fact that this kid states mostly obvious dating advice (like "don't wear sweatpants," for example), which is part of his charm, I can't help but think how setup he is for disappointment. I mean—where do you go next after making millions before puberty?

Lisa Belkin, family life writer for the New York Times, asks if children these days are growing up too fast. She contends the notion that pushing kids too far at a young age, even if it's towards what they want, can be just as bad as not pushing them at all.

Yes, Tiger started young. But would he have lost any ground had he started later? And for every Tiger, are there not countless other children who have burned out early because they leapt too fast and too soon out of the gate?" writes Belkin.

What's worse is that these child stars are mostly seen in a positive light by the media, who no doubt sensationalize the story. Left out is the sad brevity of childhood, resulting in adult behavior exhibited by former child stars like Michael Jackson.

It seems that rather than just think "this kid has so much potentional," we might want to add "to grow up all messed up."