The California mother of octuplets born earlier this year has signed a $250,000 deal for all 14 of her children to star in a reality TV show.

Nadya Suleman, dubbed "Octo-Mom" by the media, inked the deal with European TV company Eyeworks, reports say.

Contracts filed with a Los Angeles court say the children will earn the money over a three-year period.

Filming is scheduled to begin on 1 September, but a judge must first approve the contracts.

Film crews will not follow Suleman and her children 24 hours a day, but will document certain milestones, such as birthdays and special events, her lawyer said earlier.

The court documents say Suleman's children, who are up to eight years old, will collectively earn $125,000 for 36 days of shooting in the first year of production, $75,000 for 21 days in the second year, and $50,000 for 14 days in the third year.

The contract specifies that 15% of the income will be placed in a trust fund that the children will only be able access at age 18, as required by California law.

Last month, Californian authorities slapped an online site with four child-labour violations for videotaping two of the octuplets without the required safeguards to protect their health and welfare.

Suleman made headlines around the world when her octuplets;six boys and two girls, were delivered by Caesarean section in January.

She later attracted criticism when it was revealed that she was unemployed, and had conceived the octuplets, along with her six other children, through in vitro fertilisation.



Source: BBC