A written signed document is not the only way to make a legal agreement, it's just the most easily referenced and proven one. The parents consented to letting a professional photographer take photos of their child to use in commercial work, and nobody appears to dispute that.

I think I understand the motivation. Sad state of affairs. We are on our way to total loss of trust in societal institutions, and trying to take full advantage of the incentive structure, without any other considerations. In other words, we are getting to the "fuck it!" phase of the process.

money?