Like every mother, Candice Shelton was always brimming with pride whenever she received compliments about her son Teddy’s handsome looks.

So often was she told how ‘cute’ he was as a baby that Candice decided to put him up for modelling at just two years old.

Now 11, Teddy has been a child model for nine years and is in high demand.

He has earned more than £40,000 that has been put aside into a savings account for his future. 

He occasionally withdraws small amounts to buy a video game, but the money has been earmarked for university costs or a future house deposit.

Candice, a self-employed bridal hairstylist in Essex, also tried to give Teddy’s sisters, Sienna, 18, and Milah, 8, a shot at modelling fame, but neither has had the same success. 

This has created a delicate situation where Teddy has a large savings pot that neither of his sisters have been able to build.

Candice says she and her husband Paul will try to support their daughters financially when they need it. 

She says: ‘I’m not sure why Teddy’s been more successful. I think there are generally more girls than boys doing modelling so there’s more competition.’

She believes what makes Teddy stand out is his confidence in front of the camera. He takes direction very well and works brilliantly with photographers, she says.

The competitive world of child modelling has long been controversial. It can be a lucrative opportunity for a child, with earnings from a shoot starting at a few hundred pounds and potentially going up to thousands of pounds. 

Parents claim it can also be positive for their development, helping to boost children’s confidence.

A nest egg saved for early adulthood can also be invaluable at a time when young people face record levels of debt to pay for university as well as a difficult jobs market.

But critics warn that modelling from a young age can create an unhealthy focus on appearance that can lead to anxiety and body dysmorphia.

Children can also be subjected to long working hours and miss schooling as a result. Some argue widespread use of a child’s image online can lead to misuse of their photos at an age when children cannot give consent.

Even the act of posting your child’s picture on social media puts them at increased risk of being harassed, cyber-bullied and having their identities stolen in later life, according to research from the University of Southampton.

However, this risk is present whether your child has modelling pictures online or if you have just posted a picture of them on your personal social media site.

Last week, the Government announced a social media ban for all under-16s, which includes Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X. This comes as part of drastic measures to protect children’s mental health, wellbeing, and safety online.

In Teddy’s case, Candice says she had to set his Instagram account, where she shares images of his campaigns, to private after attracting a troll.

She says: ‘This troll was just saying awful things, so I made it private and decided to keep his account more personal, just for family and friends.’

However, Candice says she has ensured Teddy is safe at all times and says he enjoys his time on set.

She says: ‘Overall we’ve been really happy with the experience. The only downside I can see is as the children get older, they could develop a lack of self-confidence if they are turned down for jobs.

‘But Teddy is really happy and he enjoys it. He knows he doesn’t get every job he goes for and it’s teaching him some good life lessons.’

Teddy’s modelling career began at the age of two, when his mum sent photos to a few reputable agencies after doing her research online.

She says: ‘Within a day I’d had several of them come back offering him a contract. One wanted to book him straight away for a major retailer so I went with them.’

Things moved quickly and Teddy was soon doing several shoots a week for major high street clothing and footwear retailers.

The work has slowed slightly as he’s got older, but he still does two to four shoots a month. Most are afternoon shoots in London, so he doesn’t have to miss much school, Candice says. She adds that the school is supportive and Teddy is performing well academically.

As Candice is self-employed, she can work shoots around her own schedule. If she can’t, then husband Paul, the managing director of an accident repair centre, steps in.

Candice says most shoots pay around £400 to £550, with typical agent commission of 25 per cent. Teddy is generally on set for anywhere between one to four hours, though the contract states he could be there for up to eight hours.

The money Teddy earns is paid into his own bank account.

There are about 20 specialist child modelling agencies in the UK. If you think your child has potential, the process usually involves sending in an application form through their website or emailing the agency directly. 

This will usually involve sending in photos of the child along with information, such as their height and age.

If the agency feels your child has a strong look, they’ll take them on. Sandra Reynolds Model Agency, a top agency in London, says successful models tend to be confident, enthusiastic, have good eye contact, can adjust to new surroundings, be good in front of the camera and take direction and disappointment well.

Some agencies charge an upfront fee, such as a small website fee of £100, but they should be transparent with what it covers.

Bonnie Lia, founder and managing director of Bonnie and Betty, a leading child modelling agency, says a reputable agency should never promise guaranteed work.

Parents should look for clear contact details, a proper website, a track record and transparent communication. 

Red flags are pressure to pay quickly, approaches made only via social media, vague contracts, promises of guaranteed work or anyone asking for inappropriate photos.

Parents should be prepared to travel for auditions or shoots at short notice, which can be difficult to fit around work. Children must be chaperoned by their parents at castings and shoots.

It may involve long travel times, early starts and long shoot days. Shoots are rarely at weekends, meaning the child may have to miss school and would need a supportive headteacher.

Sally Hall, an editor who ran the B Baby Magazine for eight years, warns that parents need to be aware how demanding the industry can be.

Parents need to be able to drop everything when they get a call. Once they get to a casting, they might be dismissed almost immediately if their child doesn’t fit the brief, she warns.

Once there, the parents’ job is to make sure their child is protected and cared for at all times, to help get the child changed and then just keep out of the way.

‘It’s pretty brutal, but the shoot team has so little time and many parents feel dismissed and ignored,’ she adds. 

‘We used to have five to ten babies plus two pregnant models to get through in a day. And then there is the competitiveness between parents at the shoot.’

The earnings can also be highly contentious – with experts and critics warning that any money made from child modelling should be put aside for the child.

But Ms Hall says many parents don’t realise that it’s not necessarily a way for them to make money. The fees from modelling should go into a savings account for the children and the parents can take ‘reasonable’ expenses, she says.

For those children in demand, earnings can be generous but vary wildly between brands. Agencies may take a fee of between 20 per cent and 35 per cent.

According to the Sandra Reynolds Model Agency, a child’s day fee could be between £200 to £300 and then they could receive a usage fee in addition to the day fee, which can vary from a couple of hundred to a few thousand pounds depending on the deal you have agreed.

The agency says it often finds that one job can be very lucrative for a child if the client chooses to regularly renew the usage rights. This means they can use your child’s photos or videos in ads for a set time, such as six months or a year.

Alysia Lewis is the founder of Urban Angels, and has 700 children on her books. The agency has offices in London and Manchester and represents children all over the UK.

Ms Lewis says the top child models can earn tens of thousands of pounds by the time they are 16. But parents need to be grounded as the reality is that not all will succeed.

Earnings are typically paid into a bank account in the child’s name, but Ms Lewis says the system needs to change as parents still have access to the money. 

This differs from the US, where a law called Coogan’s Law means 15 per cent of a child’s earnings from entertainment-related work are held in a ring-fenced account that only the child can access when they are an adult.

She says: ‘Some kids are very successful. I had one who made more than £30,000 with me, but I was told the parent actually did use that money for personal stuff and it never went to the child.

‘But other parents have said the money their child made was used to buy a property, so there are many positive stories. You’d expect that many parents are doing this with their child’s best interests at heart.’

There’s also the issue of managing a child’s experience of being in

the public eye. Ms Lewis says she recommends that parents don’t set up an Instagram account for young children and instead use the agency’s own dedicated social media accounts. This helps protect children from online trolls.

Michelle Court, from Essex, signed her son Harry, six, up for modelling a year ago. She also has a three-year-old daughter she’s considering signing up with an agency. Harry is listed with several agencies and has been shortlisted for various roles, but he has not yet landed a job.

Ms Court says she has not had to pay any money upfront. Some agencies charge for shoots, while others are happy to recoup the cost from a child’s first earnings, she adds. Ms Court, 42, has been a make-up artist for 20 years, and Harry often accompanies her on shoots, so is used to being on set, she says.

Harry has also signed with an agency specialising in TV commercials. When he auditions for a commercial, he usually has to send in a ‘self-tape’ – a pre-recorded video in which a child may say a few lines about themselves or sing a song. 

The agency may then ask for a second self-tape if they want to see more, before inviting him to London for an in-person casting.

‘The self-taping element makes it easier to manage, rather than having to keep going into London for live castings,’ says Ms Court. ‘He’s had one in-person casting and the rest we just do at home.

‘He got quite far in the process for two films and a major campaign for a sports brand, but we’re still waiting for a big break. I just think it’s exciting for them, and you never know what the future might hold.’

moneymail@dailymail.co.uk