Crocodile Hunter's Daughter Having Fun as TV Star, Say Mom and Manager
July 3, 2007 4:55 p.m. EST

Sydney, Australia (AHN) - The manager and mother of Bindi Irwin have defended the 8-year-old girl's international TV career, saying the daughter of the late Crocodile Hunter is enjoying her childhood.

"We all laugh and joke and she's having a good time. And, she's working with her mom," manager John Stainton was quoted as saying in the latest edition The Bulletin, an Australian news magazine.

Bindi's mother, Terri Irwin, said her daughter's financial future was being carefully managed.

"She'll be starting a retirement account when she turns 18," Terri said.

Some Australian commentators have questioned the wisdom of Bindi's media career going ahead so soon after the death of her father, Steve Irwin, from a stingray attack on the Great Barrier Reef last year.