Steve Irwin’s daughter, Bindi, has been in the limelight almost continuously since his death. This article is typical. There has been quite a bit of discussion in the press about the wisdom of this situation. “What on earth is her mother thinking?” is the cry from many. I must say I tend to agree. It seems to me that at 8 years old Bindi is really too young to become the new corporate face of the Irwin empire. Give her a few years at least!
In every other respect, I admire the dignity the Irwin family have shown in dealing with Steve’s death, but I don’t like the way Bindi has been in the limelight. She’s just a little girl who lost her father very recently, so recently that the reality probably hasn’t caught up to her yet. Of course, in general I don’t care for parents who put their children in the public eye, and I didn’t approve of Bindi’s tv show before Steve’s death.
I just wish they’d drop the “continuing his legacy” crap and let her be a little girl for a bit longer. She’s a child. She may know what she wants, but chances are that things will change as she gets older and she may come to resent the expectations she’s weighed down with.
From what I understand, she had her own TV show in the works before he died. In fact, I’ve heard it was his idea.
Should her life be put on hold because her father died in a horrible accident? That hardly seems fair to the kid. From what I’ve always heard, when a child is faced with a traumatic event, the best thing you can do is keep their life going in the direction it was going- everything from the mundane to the big plans. Is she somehow different because daddy was famous?
Hard to say without knowing her personally if this is a good idea or not. If she actually does enjoy these performances, it seems more unkind to her to make her stop just because she lost her dad than to let her have the distraction of doing something she might consider fun.
However, I think we all know how easily child stars can end up becoming messed up people. I really hope that her mom and the rest of her family can help keep her safe from the harsher aspects of young stardom. I feel so sad for her that her dad isn’t around to help look after her now. 
I think it’s creepy. An 8 year old girl who has lost her father who is now being trotted around the media as a corporate shill. Suddenly, taking you infant child into a crocodile feeding pit looks positively benign.
mm
Bindi Irwin: “She’s bite-sized!”
Wasn’t he actually filming for this show when he got killed? Essentially it was a Steve Irwin production, with the kid doing the links to camera. Hardly child-slave exploitation.
On the other hand, yes it’s possible that there’ll be too much pressure on her. But filming a ‘fitness DVD’, which probably just involved dancing around in a studio for an afternoon, doesn’t really count.
Bindi’s been in the public eye all her life. We had a Wiggle’s DVD featuring Irwin and Bindi in which Bindi was barely out of toddlerhood.
Things seemed in control after watching Australian Story tonight.
As Caricci noted, Bindi is already an established performer. She’s also done a regular song-and-dance number at the Australia Zoo. You can never know what’s going on behind closed doors, but it seems she really enjoys performing and she certainly has a lot of poise for her age.
I have a hard time criticizing Mrs. Irwin. As others have said, Bindi was in the spotlight already. And Steve and Terri both truly believed that they had a calling to educate the public through entertainment for the ultimate purpose of saving animals. As nutty as Steve was and as controversial his tactics were, his heart was in the right place and his mission was noble.
I think child stars can turn out okay provided that their parents keep them grounded. The Australian zoo is light years away from Hollywood.
I don’t see anything wrong with having Bindi continue her parents’ mission, even at her young age. Some people live their entire lives without finding a purpose; Bindi simply inherited hers. I wish her luck and I hope that she finds her work to be healing, nurturing and soul building.