Children's entertaining is one area of magic available to us all - whether you are a parent performing to your child at a birthday party, or a professional magician hoping to expand your repertoire, children's entertaining is a rewarding and enjoyable branch of magic.
Kid's magic is very different from close-up magic or sleight of hand - it is nearer to stage magic, with visual illusions to keep your audience attentive.
When planning your children's magic shows, it is essential to bear in mind that children have a relatively small attention span, so you need to keep them on their toes by using visual props (such as magic wands, colourful tricks etc.), funny jokes and a lot of audience participation. The magic illusions should be varied, exciting and most importantly, entertaining for the children.
The tricks you choose for the magic show are very important - you should pick tricks for children that are suitable for their age and sex. A patter about football wouldn't go down too well at an all-girls birthday party!
Before you perform a show, watch a little children's television and see how the presenters act. They smile, laugh and appear to be enjoying themselves - a very important part of being successful! Try to also remember some of the characters names - you can (temporarily) rename your pet rabbit to a 'Teletubby', for example.
To be (almost) as successful as famous magicians, you need to enjoy performing magic, the kids will know you are enjoying it, and your positive feelings will help to make them enjoy your magic show - there's nothing worse than watching magic performed by a bored magician!
Improve your chances of repeat performances by rewarding the children with merchandise. A skilfully crafted balloon model is great, but once it pops, you're forgotten. If you can afford some promotional material with your contact details to give to the children along with the balloon, then the parents will have a way of calling you for their child's next party.
To sum up, try to create a fast-paced, varied and exciting magic show to keep the children entertained. Reward participation with merchandise, and word of mouth will be your main source of income.
