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Parents gone wild

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By MIKE BRODY

Special To The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 19, 2009

Our HD screens are now dominated by cheaply produced "nonscripted" programming, whose basic viewer hook is identification with "average people." The "regular" people on these shows are adults who make the choice to expose themselves to humiliation and rejection on network and cable.

But, unfortunately, in their constant quest for freshness and ratings, producers have now brought children into the mix.

"Kid Nation," a kind of "Lord of the Flies" meets "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," was totally inappropriate and traumatic for the kids ages 6 to 16.

"The Baby Borrowers" was even more bizarre, as the neglect bar was set even lower, fostering the abuse of infants and toddlers, placing them in the hands of inexperienced and incompetent teenagers.

Now we have "Jon and Kate Plus 8" and "18 Kids and Counting," where family activities and conflicts are filmed 24/7.

Sure, we want to be proud of our children, but not at their psychological expense. Psychologically, the children on these shows have no sense of boundaries, as strangers are always present in their rooms and lives. There is no privacy of the self.

These children also have authority problems as they mediate between too many adult directors and producers. Authority is also undermined by the power the kids wield, as they become meal tickets for their families. These children are objectified and not seen for themselves, but for the images they project onto the TV screens. This promotes a sense of falseness of self. What is genuine and real?

This is not a healthy environment for children, and it is good that child labor agencies have been investigating some of this programming.

We used to be concerned with inappropriate children's media containing too much commercialism, sex and violence, while now we place children in extremely stressful circumstances to entertain us. This mirrors society, where children are often the victims of divorce and have inadequate education and over-worked, absent parents.

Where can we find answers to this difficult and unhealthy problem? One place may be Broadway.

The award-winning show "Billy Elliot," the story of a young boy who has a dream and the talent to dance, is a very arduous and demanding role for the lead child actor. True to the moral lesson of the show, valuing children, the producers use three or four Billys.

Their working life was limited - and fortunately being handled by responsible adults.

Michael Brody, M.D., is chair of The Media Committee of The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

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