Brandon Busteed: In Education, Technology Changes Everything and…
Sharon Stone Sued By Former Nanny
'Kid Nation' outrages critics
Filed under: Just For Moms, Tweens, Teens, Just For Dads, Health & Safety: Babies, Media, That's Entertainment
Back in May, I wrote about a new reality show coming to CBS. The idea behind Kid Nation is to take a group of 8 to 15-year old kids, isolate them from the real world, and see how they fend for themselves in a remote New Mexico town. Before anyone had even seen the show, comparisons were being to William Golding's novel, Lord of the Flies.
The show hasn't aired yet, but television critics got a preview this week. It's hard to determine just what the critics thought about the show because they all got hung up on the fact that the producers seem to have "exploited loopholes" in the child labor laws of New Mexico. Apparently, the kids on this show spent 40 days working up to 14 hours each day with no adult supervision and no teachers on hand. Since filming ended, New Mexico has closed the loophole that allowed these kids to work for such long hours, but critics say the show's producers ignored their own industry standards when filming the show.
"We trust that networks or production companies are going to abide by industry guidelines," said Carlos Castaneda of the New Mexico Department of Labor. "There were loopholes that they took advantage of."
Geoffrey White, a psychologist who has worked on other reality shows, says that the premise of the show itself "sounds terrible" and that even adults put in situations such as this would suffer serious emotional stress. "These shows are coercive and use the manipulative power of group pressure to bring out the worst in people," he said. He also claims that the parents of these kids were asked to sign a consent form that didn't detail how each day on the set would be spent.
Which brings me to my question. Who on earth would want their child to be on a show like this? Just looking at the photo that accompanies this article makes me feel kind of sad for them.
The show hasn't aired yet, but television critics got a preview this week. It's hard to determine just what the critics thought about the show because they all got hung up on the fact that the producers seem to have "exploited loopholes" in the child labor laws of New Mexico. Apparently, the kids on this show spent 40 days working up to 14 hours each day with no adult supervision and no teachers on hand. Since filming ended, New Mexico has closed the loophole that allowed these kids to work for such long hours, but critics say the show's producers ignored their own industry standards when filming the show.
"We trust that networks or production companies are going to abide by industry guidelines," said Carlos Castaneda of the New Mexico Department of Labor. "There were loopholes that they took advantage of."
Geoffrey White, a psychologist who has worked on other reality shows, says that the premise of the show itself "sounds terrible" and that even adults put in situations such as this would suffer serious emotional stress. "These shows are coercive and use the manipulative power of group pressure to bring out the worst in people," he said. He also claims that the parents of these kids were asked to sign a consent form that didn't detail how each day on the set would be spent.
Which brings me to my question. Who on earth would want their child to be on a show like this? Just looking at the photo that accompanies this article makes me feel kind of sad for them.
Your<span>Voice</span>
Ask Us Anything About Parenting
TheTalkies:RelatedVideos
-
How to Make A Bird Feeder
As new research reveals that the nations children know more about gossio then tadpoles – TV Presenter Michaela Strachan bucks the trend by showing youngsters the joys of nature
New research released today by Robinsons be Natural reveals that British primary school children can list almost four times as many celebrities as they can wildflowers, birds and wild animals.
-
Healthy at School
Getting kids to eat healthier has grown more important as childhood obesity emerges as a national and even worldwide concern. In Virginia and across the U.S., new programs are underway to help kids eat healthier foods. A key element is showing youngsters the connection between farms and the food on their lunch and dinner tables.
-
Just Bieber Gets A Car On Ellen For His Birthday
Today is Justin Bieber's eighteenth birthday! So like any other normal kid who just entered into adulthood, he gets an insanely expensive new ride on national TV. Way to make everyone jealous Biebs!
Justin Bieber, who has only been legally allowed to drive for the past two years, got an exclusive, expensive, luxury gift for his eighteenth birthday today on ‘The Ellen Degeneres Show.'
-
CNC Costume National Ready-to-Wear - Fall 2008
Footage from the CNC Costume National ready-to-wear collection at the fall 2008 fashion show and trivia about the designer.
SitesWeLove
- Site Map
- |
- Staff
- |
- Terms of Service
- |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Trademarks
- |
- Advertise With Us
- |
- About Our Ads
- |
- AOL Downloads
- |
- Contact Us
- |
© Copyright 2012 AOL Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Aol Family
ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
7-25-2007 @ 9:30AM
Grandmother said...As a grandmother of one of the children in Kid Nation, I have to state my opinion, in reference to all the negative comments.
Let me start off with my own life ( when I was 8-15 years old ) My father died when I was 5, there were 4 kids at home, we were poor dirt farmers, my mother had to take a job in public, leaving us kids to clean the house, milk the cows, gather the eggs, feed the chickens, feed the hogs, plant and harvest the crops of wheat, tobacco, corn, plus in the summer a garden for food , chop the wood for heat, do the cooking, this was done in the heat of the summer, the cold of the winter, weather didn't matter, the work had to be done. and to do it we were up at 5:00A.M. and worked until all was done for the day .The oldest at home was 15. We had no electricity, running water, bathrooms or any other modern convenience's. The other thing we did have was the closeness of family, and see the beauty of our work at the end of the day.
I guess you could say I lived in Kid Nation, but my mother was not accused of being cruel to us as these kids parents are .
This work never hurt me, my bother or any of my sisters, It only made us appreciate what we had, respect what we had , to respect others and I feel most of all it helped us to truly see the beauty God had put on this earth for us .
My granddaughter come home from Kids Nation with some of these values , she’s seen that life is not all play, not all give me, not self centered around just her . She’s seen if she wants to get somewhere in life, you need to work to get there, not expect her parents to hand it to you. She realizes now just how hard her mother and father work to make things better for her and her sister and she wants to help more, even encourages her sister to do the same. She helps in the garden and loves it. She now can see the beauty in a flower as it blooms, not that it’s just a flower. Sure she is a child, weren’t we all at some point in our life’s and we all learned from the experience of doing , not setting and letting others do for us.
I find in today generation that kids are given everything, they don’t have to work for it, and they don’t appreciate it as they would if they had to earn it. We have more kids from 8 up in crime ( drugs, theft, gangs and even killing) today, the reason being, they are not given the opportunity to expand their minds in the adult world, they are told they are to young to know what they are talking about. This is not true, quit babying your kid, give them a change to use their minds , listen to them when they talk, let them make a few decisions , then guide them in their decisions.
The kids on Kid Nation did just that and this is one grandmother who has seen her granddaughter come home a much better child then when she left, yes, some got home sick, including my granddaughter, I’m sure there was some name calling, anger shown , pushing , shoving , but in the end each of these kids respected each other and have remained in touch with each other since they have returned home. Don’t we as adults show anger and call names. Watch our elected officials , they are one of the biggest name callers in the world, and they are supposed to be well educated adults. They also show great anger . AMAZING ISN”T IT, see where are kids get it from.
My granddaughter said she had a great time and would do it again in a heart beat, and as fare as her schooling , she came home and took the test ( that she had missed ) passed with flying colors at the top of her class. Now tell me kids can’t do what they set their mind to .
The parents were able to hear how their child was doing every day , if they wanted to , there were counselors that could be called at any time. My daughter did just that and knew she was doing fine at all times.
Thanks Kid Nation for giving my granddaughter this opportunity . Thanks to all the kids who showed the world that kids can live and work alone if need be and survive, you all were great, don’t let anyone tell you different. As a matter of fact, this is probably why so many adults are mad, kids have outdone them and proven the wrong.
I’m one proud grandmother
PS I was not an unstable child as all the world is saying these childs are. Not even God judges before seeing
Reply
7-25-2007 @ 9:32PM
Proud aunt said...I am an aunt to one of the kids on KidNation and I can't say enough how proud my family is that she was part of the show. She is a very strong individual and these kids helped each other out through the whole process. Like Grandmother said, every one of these kids said they would do it again in a heartbeat. What an amazing experience for them! These are very smart, very talented kids and it was a privilege for them to be selected. My sister was in touch with her daughter consistently and never felt that it was a mistake to let her go. I can hardly wait to see the show!! Adults can only learn from this......
One very proud aunt
Reply