"Kid Nation": Has The Slippery Slope Just Become Slipperier?

The controversy surrounding the new CBS reality show, "Kid Nation" has caught the entire nation by surprise. At Safety4Kids, we thought it only right to weigh in on the issues surrounding this first-of-its-kind television show. We asked some of our experts to offer their thoughts on the subject. We have tried to remain objective, but when it comes to children and safety, we are passionate! Here's what Dr. Sheila Josephson, a psychotherapist with more than thirty years experience dealing with individuals and families had to say:

"What would the world be like if people were required to take a parenting test?"

Forty children ages 8-15 dropped in the New Mexico desert for 40 days without basic amenities such as electricity and indoor plumbing in order to build their "own society" by working from sun-up to sun-down. There is no adult supervision--they are alone in their quest for their "own society". Is this a prison sentence for anti-social behavior? No, it's a new CBS reality show.

Up until now, only adults have participated in reality shows seeking fame and fortune, eating live bugs or displaying their prowess building huts on isolated islands. Now children are asked to perform difficult tasks, presumably without training or supervision. They are taken out of their homes and schools for 40 days, put in a place where they know no one and asked to cooperate with others to build a social order. The goal might be admirable but is it too much to ask children who are so young? And the rewards are what? Money, fame, pleasing their parents?

I have often wondered in my 30+ years of being a therapist what the world would be like if people were required to take a "parenting test" in order to have the privilege of becoming parents. Parents need to be loving and protective and give their children the feeling that their lives will be safe and secure. Without this sense of caring and well-being, children can grow up with a myriad of insecurities which may eventuate in profound depression, anxiety, drug and alcohol abuse, sexual addiction, eating disorders, self-mutilation. It can also lead to an inability to sustain a meaningful relationship when they are older. Some parents inflict unspeakable crimes against their children. And the price these children pay for having abusive, neglectful parents is immeasurable.

I am not suggesting that the forty parents of these children are in any way abusive, neglectful or unloving. I do wonder, however, why parents would let their children undergo this ordeal. Why let your child go off alone to the desert unsupervised for over a month working nonstop under the possible mistreatment of other children? And not all the children are equal. The older ones are presumably bigger, stronger and have more power. Why subject younger children to this? Do these children feel abandoned by their parents and by adults in general? Who is protecting them? Have they been exploited by society?

No one knows what the impact of this experience on these children will be. Some will be stronger, more self-reliant and have a sense of accomplishment. Others may become traumatized and be scarred later in life. But what parent wants to take the risk that their child will be the one to suffer?

I do not blame CBS for wanting a new reality show on their network. And with all the publicity it's generating, they might just have a new hit on their hands. It's not their responsibility if the parents of these children were willing to have their children participate. But would the CBS producers send their children off to the desert? That remains to be seen.

Safety4Kids also asked Dr. Carl Baum, a member of the SeeMore's Playhouse Safety Council, and Director of the Center for Children's Environmental Toxicology at Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital to weigh in on this controversy. He also worries about the long-term impact of what he calls "this experiment." Here is Dr. Baum's take on "Kid Nation."

"For a number of reasons, I don't think this is such a good idea."

1. CONSENT: The parents may have given consent for their minor children to participate in this experiment (what else would you call it?), but did the children? The answer is no, as minor children can at most give their assent to participate, but cannot ethically, legally, or intellectually give informed consent.
   
   Isn't this the same--in terms of consent and assent--as an investigational trial that would take place in a clinic or hospital setting? The answer again is no: while the starting conditions may be the same, the subsequent separation of the children from their parents changes the formula. Normally, clinical investigations allow parents and their children to withdraw from the study at any time, without any penalty. But in this case, the parent-child bond is temporarily broken, thwarting private discussions about whether or not to continue participation.



2. COERCION: The huge financial rewards of remaining on the show might be viewed as coercive. What if, for example, a child participant develops a sore throat, but refrains from reporting it to the medical personnel for fear of having to leave the show? Now imagine that the sore throat turns out to be strep throat, which, if untreated, could have significant long-term complications, and could spread to other children.
   
   The promise of significant financial rewards could easily cloud the judgment of a child. But parents can have their judgment clouded, too. In the pediatric emergency department where I work, I have lost count of the number of times I am taking care of a child who has suffered a significant sports injury, and the first thing the parents want to know is, when can s(he) return to play? Maybe they're too busy thinking about that next game, or the championship, or the college scholarship...



3. SUPERVISION: Children are not capable, in most cases, of caring entirely for themselves. That is why we call on our social work colleagues in the hospital and at state agencies to help us rectify the problem when we suspect abuse or neglect--or even lack of supervision--of our young patients.

Dr. Richard Lerner, Director of the Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development at Tufts University has very strong feelings about "Kid Nation". Dr. Lerner's extensive research and experience, lead him to some pretty interesting conclusions.

"'Kid Nation' will be an instance of a cruel and exploitative assault on the lives of young people..."

Parents hope that their children will grow up healthy, happy, and productive. They aspire to have children who have the skills to contribute to their own well-being and, as well, to the well-being of their families, communities, and nation. Indeed, enlightened parenting involves the recognition that there is a necessary and intimate relationship between making contributions to one's self and one's family and, as well, making contributions to community and society. Behaviors that help only oneself but diminish the social and physical world in which we live are ultimately self-defeating and destructive of both self and society. As such, a key task of effective parenting is to help children become both good people and good citizens.

There is no magic bullet for developing these capacities in children. Some programs to enhance positive development and civic engagement succeed better than others. The most effective efforts involve long-term and positive relations between adult mentors and youth, the nurturing of life skills among youth, and the provision of opportunities for young people to participate in, and take leadership of, valued community activities.

Everything that is apparently going to be part of the CBS "Kid Nation" program seems antithetical to what is known from years and years of careful research and program evaluation about what is needed to develop young people who are intrinsically motivated to make meaningful and sustained contributions to themselves and their communities. Young people--and their families--are being promised the extrinsic rewards of thousands of dollars and, at least, their "15 minutes of fame." There is no adult mentoring, no curriculum for skill building, and no evaluation of whether young people are being damaged in the immediate context of their experience or, later on, as the effects of their participation in "Kid Nation" may become manifest in the future.

Putting people in an arena filled with hungry lions to appease the appetites for entertainment of the citizens of Rome was a "reality show" that even contemporary television executives would (perhaps) consider inhumane and immoral. Placing young people in the arena of public viewing to gain ratings among a television audience hungry for mindless amusement may not be as bloody as its Roman antecedent. But, because it is and plans to remain uninformed by science and practice, "Kid Nation" will be an instance of a cruel and exploitative assault on the lives of young people and a step towards signifying that children exist for the mere amusement of America's television audience. The concept of the "evil of banality" is not inappropriate here.

Are These Really The Tools of Childhood?

In addition to our clinical experts, some of whom happen to be parents, we also asked two of our regular contributors who write from the point of view of parents to tell us how they feel about this hot topic. Both of them described writing their blog entries in the "heat of emotion" having seen the CBS trailer and having read much of the press. And while their children are currently too young to be considered for a spot on the "Kid Nation" sequel, they had plenty to say on the subject. First up, Vivian.

"What would a Hollywood stage mother do?"

When I find that I am at a parenting crossroads, I like to ask myself: "What would a Hollywood stage mother do?" I think long and hard, come up with an answer and then SPRINT in the other direction. It's worked so far.

So when I first read about "Kid Nation", CBS' new reality show about kids ages 8-15 who spend 40 nights a la "Lord Of the Flies" (no parents, no teachers) I paused and asked myself, would I let my son go on a show like this? I think we know what most stage moms would say, so my answer is ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

Let's just start off by saying that reality TV is about as real as my size 2 pants ever fitting again. Ever notice there are no uni-brows on "Survivor"? That said, sending your 8 year old kid away for 40 days LET ALONE 40 unsupervised days is bad parenting. The only reality is that this is an acting opportunity and a great place to be discovered if what your kid wants (or what you want FOR your kid) is fame.

I would be willing to bet (although I don't know for sure) that CBS is keeping the kids' physical safety somewhat intact. Parents aside, the cameraman is a grown-up, and so is the sound guy, prop person etc.... I'm guessing fights get broken up, hungry kids get food. But how do you account for the kids' emotional safety? An 8 year old needs help making decisions especially when her only options are choices being presented by a 15 year old. The incredible stress of being away from home, with no adult to turn to, must be overwhelming for most of these kids.

The kids are allowed to go home if they choose to, but I'm sure at every turn they are dangled a carrot to make them stay. I've watched the promo a few times now, and nearly spit my son's leftover chicken fingers all over the keyboard when the host of the show (a grown-up, by the way) held up a solid gold star worth...GASP...$20,000 which the kids were told would help pay for their college tuition. (Maybe he was talking about when he went to college?)

To all the people who say "What if the kids really wanted to be on the show?" I say... my son really wants chocolate chip cookies for dinner every night but (thanks to those stage mothers in Hollywood) I just say NO!

Jen is our blogging mom who has three kids, including an adorable set of twins. She had a very interesting childhood; you might say she lived her own "Kid Nation" but without the world watching. We think this gives her a fairly unique perspective on the whole matter, more of a world view, perhaps. Here are her thoughts on the subject:

"Kids in other countries might wish they were on 'Kid Nation'."

When I heard Matt Lauer talking about the controversy brewing around "Kid Nation" I figured they were just trying to plug the show. (That's before I learned it was on CBS!) When he said he would never send one of his kids, I thought that was pretty obvious, neither would I. In considering the whole thing further I realized that this is just another step in the full cleansing of anything real from the experience of our kids.

If I think back on my own childhood summers (as I cart my eldest from tennis to play dates, from camp to swimming) I remember that when I was four I spent the summer in Hawaii with my Dad while my 7 year old sister cared for me. Not ideal, to be sure, but clearly those were different times; in some ways less dangerous and in most ways, less jaded. I had a number of unique summers, spent in the "care" of siblings and learning at a very young age how to fend for myself.

My summers made me who I am in some way so fundamental to how I live my life that I can't imagine what type of person I'd be without them. I don't know if I could change the type of summer I'm giving to my child even if I wanted to. That's what kids around here do, but I wonder what kind of lessons she's learning...I also can't help but think that kids around the world are doing vastly different things: they are fighting wars, working in factories and caring for their families.

I can't imagine they wouldn't trade places with the kids from "Kid Nation" in a heartbeat.

Clearly, this is a controversial topic, and no doubt, the powers that be at CBS knew it would be. At Safety4Kids, we care first and foremost about the safety and wellness of children everywhere. Even in a ghost town, somewhere in the desert of New Mexico.

Please post a comment and let us know how you feel about this important controversy.

(c) Jim Parkin. Image from BigStockPhoto.com.
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