Should Children/Families Be on Reality TV?

[HiStitch626]

I think you need to very careful with children whether its reality tv, or scripted tv and movies. There are quite a few instances of children involved in these industries having serious struggles.

 

[ashley0139]

I think you need to very careful with children whether its reality tv, or scripted tv and movies. There are quite a few instances of children involved in these industries having serious struggles.

Yes, even with all the rules for child performers, they are still not protected. Alyson Stoner did an interesting video on it recently.

 

[Grand Koalafornian]

Yes, even with all the rules for child performers, they are still not protected. Alyson Stoner did an interesting video on it recently.

Wow. This is such a good video! This is stuff I always wondered. I was in a few commercials and modeled a bit as a kid, but my parents had a lot of rules. My mom was choosy about which auditions I could go to. I was never out of her sight. If anyone criticized my body, I never worked with that company again. Homework came first, so if my grades suffered, no more jobs for a while. All that money went to my college fund and I was very thankful to have it. I still don't make the $75/hour I did at my height as a model, Lol.

I'm so lucky my parents genuinely had my best interest at heart and was very clear about this being a side thing, and my main focus was school. When school became more demanding, and I wasn't enjoying it anymore, I quit - and my parents were very happy!

She makes so many good points! I think some of these thing are even worse for kids on reality tv. There's no "going home" and returning to normal, even if the cameras leave. You have two different versions of your parents "camera mom and dad" and "regular mom and dad." Especially confusing for kids under seven who don't really have a great grasp on fantasy vs reality.

There should not be any child stars. Kids should be limited to how many projects they can work in a year. And there shouldn't be reality shows that follow families/kids.