Karen Dotrice: 'I’ve never really wanted any of my children to become child actors like me'

‘Saving Mr. Banks’ is an endearing film now in theaters about Walt Disney’s struggle to acquire the rights to a children’s author’s beloved books, but the actor who played Jane in ‘Mary Poppins’ says child actors are who really need saving

Another child actor is all grown up and joining the long list of former child stars disclosing all was not as cheery as it seemed. Karen Dotrice won hearts as Jane in the 1963 film ‘Mary Poppins. The brilliant Sherman brothers’ song “The Perfect Nanny,” in which Jane reads an advertisement describing the kind of caretaker any child would long for, is particularly sweet (and funny).

Doctrice, who left show business as a teenager, had this to say about child stardom:

 “If I’d had my way, I’d still never have done any of those films, because kids should be kids. They should be doing their homework, or outside riding horses. They should be learning and growing at their own pace – and learning things at the right time, rather than when it’s convenient for others. It’s just not normal for a child to have that kind of focus on them and then trot off into life thinking that everyone’s going to pamper them and treat them as if they’re ‘special’. The fact is that if you’re living in a Justin Bieberesque type world surrounded by a bunch of yes people, the odds are you’re going to struggle in later life. That’s why I’ve never really wanted any of my children to become child actors like me. I’ve seen a lot of my peers go through terrible times and have to deal with all sorts of demons.”

Thank you, Karen for your insight.