I do not care whether the parents consented to loaning their children out to make a television show (I wonder how much money they made from this), I personally think it says something about the kind of parents they are, it's a disgrace. It puts the children at risk physically and emotionally/psychologically, the consequences of which could be far reaching in terms of their development and mental health, if not their physical health.
The shows claims that it has taken "extraordinary" measures to safeguard the children, but it only takes minutes for an accident to happen that could result in a child's death, for example a baby being dropped by an inexperienced "parent" or a child unhappy in a stranger's arms, and no matter how much CCTV you have this is not preventable. Despite the many "experts" the BBC have monitoring the CCTV is it not always possible to predict the negative effect this separation could have on a young child.
The Metro article claims that a ten year old child goes unfed for a day, and that one baby had to be removed from one couple after thier relationship breaks down. I will not be able to confirm this as I shall not be watching this program.
Simply I see this as the exploitation of children in the name of cheap "entertainment", children unable to protect themselves and parent's who clearly
Right, off to write a strong worded letter.
EDIT: Apparently you cannot complain to OFCOM until the program has actually aired so I'll have to wait until tuesday for that.
4 comments:
I agree with you - it obviously says something about the kind of parents they are, to be so willing to hire out their children in this way. It makes you wonder if the children are perhaps better off in the care of strangers than with their own parents.
I agree with you about the emotional/psychological consequences - What about when the child is old enough to understand that he/she had been "hired out" for money? (especially if it turned out to be an unpleasant experience) What would this do to a childs sense of self worth? Maybe the older children were willing once they realised that Mum and Dad will now be able to take them to Disney World, but what does the experience teach them in the long run about their worth as a person?
I agree, it's disgraceful. (but then a lot of tv viewing is these days)
It's good to hear from you, I was going to email you, had been wondering where you were! I hope everything is okay :)
You're right, a lot of television viewing is disgraceful these days, consenting adults is one thing, but children is another. I'm really surprised that it's the BBC choosing to make this show.
:) Thanks Angela. I don't know where I've been - I keep having those "stop the world I want to get off" moments, where everything seems to be passing by in a blur! I'm still hanging on though - just!
I wish I had something wise to say, but all I can think of is the cheesy line "Life is a rollercoaster, you just gotta ride it".
Keep hanging in there and have one of those cookies you like :)
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