Baggage Check: Dirty Diaper Laundry
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Like (Dr. Andrea Bonior dives into the world of psychology.
WHERE SHOULD THE line be drawn with children and reality shows? The dirty diaper has hit the fan with the recent news that the California mother of octuplets (and six other children) has recently scored her own reality show. Making even more headlines, the ratings for "Jon and Kate Plus 8" have gone through the roof with scandalous accusations of marital strife and infidelity.
As I commented for Celebritology, there are serious and legitimate concerns about exposing young children to constant filming. While many people focus only on how "obtrusive" the cameras are in terms of letting the children live their day-to-day lives, the dangers exist on a much more complex and long-term level. Let's say the kids ARE so used to the cameras that they don't notice them anymore: what does that say about what's happened to their notions of privacy, personal autonomy and appropriate attention?
A lot has changed since the first child labor laws were developed. Now that film sets have moved into the home, it's time to rethink the rules.
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How are all these reality TV shows any different from the treatment of the Dionne quintuplets, who spent their childhood as a tourist attraction like zoo animals? These kids are so little; do they even know that not everyone has a camera crew in their kitchen?... and their living room... and their hallway... and their bedroom... and their back yard... and following them down the highway... and on their vacation...
By HeatherAnnastasia , Posted June 4, 2009 2:45 AMI would agree that child labor laws need to be revisted to keep up with the times (although I'm guessing there isn't very much in the way of research of what are the long term effects on child development to aid the politicians looking at these laws). But the evolution of reality shows to what they are now should come as no surprise to people. Living in the capitalistic country that we do, there are always going to be those people that are going to think outside the box and do anything to make a dollar including exploiting people (of any age). Laws are always going to be tested and will always need fine tuning. Less we not forget, we had to make a law in our own country just to make slavery illegal! Our American ingenuity is a double edged sword.
By Tony , Posted June 4, 2009 8:20 AM