How To Introduce My Child To Voice Acting?

Does your child have a unique skill in mimicry and personification? Has your child shown an inclination towards becoming a commercial voice over artist? Does this make you wonder if you should try your child's luck and introduce your child to voice acting? This article covers all the aspects that you need to get started.

It is a well-established fact that voice acting is a very competitive field. To find a spot in this business and to be in the spotlight requires tremendous effort, practice, persistence, and patience. Even though the voice acting is an adult-dominated industry, there is a lot of scope for child voice over actors.

Over the past couple of years, the Covid 19 pandemic has created a new wave among parents looking for activities for their children. One such home-based activity is voice acting. Kids generally can modulate their voice naturally, making voice acting a good option for them.

Should I get my child into voice acting?

Like any other decision, only you have the right and freedom to decide for your child. Every child is unique, and so is every parent and their situation. It is solely your decision whether or not to introduce your child to voice acting. Make an informed decision after considering the essential factors such as your lifestyle, your child's skills and abilities, and the investment to become a voice over artist.

How can I help my child to start voice acting?

The following steps can help your child to get on the voice acting track

• Identifying their unique voice characteristics.

• Try to voice over some characters from cartoons or movies.

• Record every voice acting to playback and know the strengths and weaknesses of their voice.

• Record their voice acting demos and send them to various voice acting agencies.

• Keep practicing with the help of sample scripts.

How do I know if voice acting would be a good choice for my kid?

There is always a dilemma while choosing a career. As a parent, you would never choose something detrimental to your child. It is normal to be skeptical before introducing your child to voice acting. You might have heard your child imitating or creating a character voice, watched them deliver the dialogues in plays, or enjoyed their singing voice. Look for the following qualities in your child before you choose voice acting- 

• Willingness to learn new things.

• Ability to learn new languages and accents.

• An extensive imagination and creativity.

• Concentration and ability to take feedback positively.

What is my investment to start a career as a voice over actor?

Just like any other activity you choose for your child, voice acting also requires investment in time, practice, training, and equipment.

In voice acting, voice is the only asset. To polish this asset and become a highly skilled and professional commercial voice over artist, you need to invest your money and time into voice acting. There is no fixed investment to take your child towards success. Every child is different, and so is their voice. Hence your investment will also vary.

How can I train my child in voice acting?

You may enroll your child in voice acting classes or hire a voice coach. Voice training is crucial for beginners as well as established voice over artists. Hence, never compromise or ignore the importance of voice training for your child. 

Voice acting is not just about talking into the microphone. It includes skills such as interpreting the script, understanding the emotions of the characters, bringing the characters to life, and narration with an appealing and convincing voice. These skills need professional training from experienced voice coaches.

Should I record my child's voice acting demo?

Yes, absolutely! Voice acting demos are an integral part of starting a career as a voice over artist. The only way you can get clients is through voice demos. You may either record your child's voice demos in a professional recording studio or do it in your own home studio setup.

How do I set up a home voice recording studio for my child?

To start with, you might not need a fully equipped voice recording studio. But there is some equipment without which it is nearly impossible to start your child's career as a voice over actor.

Invest in good quality (remember that expensive equipment need not have the best quality) microphone, pop filter, microphone stand, recording and editing software. Simultaneously, you may also enroll your child in voice coaching sessions. The basic home recording studio is necessary to record for auditions, demos, and sample voice acting for coaching sessions. You may look into the How-to tutorials available online on voice acting, recording equipment, and editing.

Getting your child at a young age into the world of voice acting would be helpful to hone their voice skills and familiarize them with the different styles of voice acting. It helps prepare them to take up a full-time career as a commercial voice over artist.

Voice acting is an ever-growing field and has increased the demand for voice over artists. Young voices are also in high demand in the world of voice acting for TV commercials, audiobook narration, cartoon characters, and more. Enroll your child with an agency to navigate the voice acting industry and find the right voice acting jobs for your child.

You need to do your research and homework before you decide to introduce voice acting to your child. You also need to understand your child's resilience and interest. Voice acting will be very demanding on your child in terms of time, patience, practice, and competition. There are high possibilities of rejection that your child should be able to deal with. Not every audition will convert into a voice acting project, and this should not be the deciding factor to quit voice acting. Hang in there with patience, and it will surely be worth the wait.