Should kids be on reality tv?

Re: Should kids be on reality tv?

I am not sure how I feel about this, but I do agree with all of the points you made, Lenora. I guess it would have to be for an educational purpose, not purely for entertainment.

Re: Should kids be on reality tv?

Child labor laws also do not cover children's peagants, yet those kids spend HOURS every day just getting ready to perfrom for an hour or so.

Frankly, I truly think it depends on the kids. I modeled when I was young. When I decided in 7th/8th grade that it just wasn't fun anymore, then I stopped with no pressure from my mom to continue. I did this starting when i was in 3rd grade I think - only 2-3 times a year. It was fun, I made lots of friends even if I didn't make hordes of money. And what money I did make was mine, not my parents. I probably didn't make more than a few thousand over the course of 5 years and I blew most of it on typical kid junk. Mom did have me set aside some to use for holidays/gifts as in my family we either made gifts for each other or bought them ourselves starting when we were about 8 or so - just the way things were. And that didn't change just because I had money and my sibs didn't. In fact, mom impressed upon me the need to share, so we went out as a family on "my" money occasionally. Say i got $200 for a modeling job. After taking everyone to dinner and maybe buying a few toys or some clothes for each of us, there was nothing left. So its not like I was rolling in dough and my sibs weren't, or I had tons of stuff and they didn't. When I had it, i shared. The rest of the time we lived at or below poverty level until we moved to Texas when I was 13/14. We had another tradition in my family, and that was giving to those less fortunate. Every Xmas, we picked out a toy that we would have liked to receive (usually $10-$20 back then). We then wrapped the gifts ourselves and delivered them to the local hospital with a tag stating what the gift was, for a boy or girl and the age for receiving. We did this from the earliest I can remember and I still do it with my kids. The only time I haven't is when I lived in Europe. When I was making money, mom never pressured me to buy something more expensive. One year my sis and I adopted a family with 2 kids and had a blast (w/ mom) spending money on them. This was never my mom's idea, but she heartily approved of it. Just an example of what having the right kind of parent in this type of situation can lead to - a loving, giving person.

I say all of this to make a point. Depending on the kid(s) and the parent(s), this can be a great experience. Child advocates are right to worry if there are no "regular" childhood days in the kids life. The problem is that there is no way for these advocates to know what happens on a day to day basis in a kids life. Sometimes (and it does happen alot) someone DOES need to step in and be an advocate for the kid. Many parents force their kids to do this kind of thing, or put such pressure on them that the (the kid) feel like the "have" to do this stuff to make the parent happy. But usually this isn't the case.

Reality TV does have some aspects that modeling or child actors don't have to contend with. First, there are always cameras in the kids home - the one place where they should be able to go and just "be". No performing, no dressing up, no acting, no nothing. Where can these kids go when you take that away? Are they getting time when their refuge/home isn't being taped? I think they probably do, but eventually they are going to start behaving like they are being filmed all the time simply because it becomes habit. This is not a problem you have with peagants or modeling. All of that takes place away from the home.

Second, some kids thrive in the above environment, but most don't. Me? I loved being the center of attention (still do), but my sister hated it - especially of she had to go with us and just sit there and watch me being fussed over. What does something like that do to the kids that don't like it or can't handle the constant public attention? In my case, it caused ALOT of friction between my sister and I. We never got close until I was in my mid twenties. She thought I had it so easy, was a bit jealous of the attention I received, and generally made my home life miserable for several years until I quit and then she left home to go in the service. She never knew how much I wanted to be JUST LIKE HER, the person at school that EVERYONE liked and looked up to. She is still that kind of person and I greatly admire her for it. But back then, we never got close enough to be able to share that with each other. This alone makes kids on reality TV a problem for me.

I don't watch reality TV at all. I hate watching people makes asses of themselves for all the world to see. When these kids grow up, you can bet the bank that someone, somewhere is going to remember them and use it against them somehow.

So I guess that while I don't think anyone has the right to say kids defintely should not have this type of exposure, I don't think any one (including parents) should force this on any kid. I had the opportunity for both of mine to model as babies. I declined. If this is something they want to do later, i will support their decision. But not when they are too small to understand what they are getting into.

Now, how is that for a convoluted answer!?!