EMPOWERED CHILD

(BEFORE 18)

Empower : Make (someone) stronger, powerful and more confident, especially in controlling their life, asserting and claiming their rights.

DEFINITION

Empowered child : A child who feels and believes that he has equal opportunity, strong, powerful and is in charge of his own life, knows how to assert and claim his rights.

DEFINITION

DEFINITION

MCCAULAY CULKIN

Macaulay Culkin (born August 26, 1980) is widely known for his portrayal of Kevin McCallister in Home Alone & Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. At the height of his fame, he was regarded as the most successful child. Culkin ranked at number 2 on respective lists of the "100 Greatest Kid-Stars" and "50 Greatest Child Stars".

MCCAULAY CULKIN

FILM INCOMEUncle Buck (1989) $ 40,000

Home Alone (1990) $ 100,000

My Girl (1991) $ 1 000,000

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)

$ 4 500,000

The Good Son (1993) $ 1 500,000

Getting Even with Dad (1994) $ 8 000,000

Ri¢hie Ri¢h (1994) $ 8 000,000

SALARY

The elder Culkin signed his son to star in movie after movie, while Macaulay wasn't even asked which scripts interested him.

Meanwhile, Culkin's father's demands of Macaulay grew larger, and more bizarre. He threatened to keep the child out of Home Alone 2 unless the studio gave Macaulay the lead in another movie, The Good Son.

MCCAULAY CULKIN

And when the studio agreed, Kit Culkin then demanded that Macaulay's younger sister, Quinn, play his sister in the film. Kit's demands weren't so much about money. It was more about power -- Kit Culkin wanted power over his son's movies, and seemed to want power over his son.

MCCAULAY CULKIN

Even his acting seems wooden and forced. Between his father, the movies, and the media, Culkin says he had "lost conception of what it was like to be normal." Additionally, says Culkin, his father was often drunk and obnoxious.

MCCAULAY CULKIN

When he was 14, Culkin's parents separated, and began a costly court battle over custody of Culkin. Mccaulay quit show business, and eventually took both his parents to court to gain control of the money he'd earned ($17 million). Rather than living life by his parents rules like any other 14-year-old, Culkin sued for emancipation and control of his money and not handling his funds correctly.

He bailed out of their house and get an apartment.

MCCAULAY CULKIN

They were taking advantage of his money and not saving it for him when he became of age to handle it on his own.

He never got the money he was suppose to. He eventually won the case.

He hasn't spoken to his father in four years. "He was an abusive man," says Culkin. "Not so much physical, though there was a little bit of that. It was this mental abuse."

MCCAULAY CULKIN

"I just wanted a little bit of a break. I wanted a summer vacation for the first time in, you know, forever." I just remember the exact point when I was growing a little more tired, during The Good Son (1993). I had already done one or two things that year, and I just said to Kit, "Listen, I'm really getting tired and I'm not at school as much as I'd like to be. I really need some time off". He said, "Yeah, sure" and the next thing I knew I was on the next set doing the next thing.

MCCAULAY CULKIN

Macaulay says he didn't even have his own bed in the family apartment. "[Kit] had a king-size bed and a big-screen TV, and I was sleeping on the couch. It was just something he was doing to kind of break your spirit, I figure.

" My father was overbearing. Very controlling. He was always the way he is, even before my success. He was not always a good person. He'd play mind games to make sure I knew my place. I don't see him, which is unfortunate. But I don't have any desire to see him. I vaguely know where he is, and I don't want to know. As long as he's not standing outside my doorstep, I'm fine.

MCCAULAY CULKIN

On September 17, 2004, Culkin was arrested in Oklahoma City for the possession of 17.3 grams (0.61 oz) of marijuana. After being arraigned in court for misdemeanor drug offenses, he pleaded not guilty at the trial (October 15, 2004 to June 9, 2005), then later reversed the plea to guilty. He received three one-year suspended prison terms, and was ordered to pay $540 in fees.

MCCAULAY CULKIN

MCCAULAY CULKIN

MCCAULAY CULKINHe abuses drugs & is said to smoke 60

cigarettes per day.

Neil Postman argues that children are becoming increasingly empowered, speaking more for themselves, conscious of their own rights, becoming sports and media stars and increasingly watching the same programmes and enjoying the same music as their parents. Children are no longer seen as economically worthless but emotionally priceless.

CONCLUSION