'I Know My Kid's a Star': Televising Child Abuse

It was with a heavy heart that I watched, I Know My Kid's a Star tonight. Animals are treated better on sets than some of these children were on national television. I have to hope - and presume - that our animal protection societies are doing a better job than whoever is supposed to be looking out for the best interests of these children. I keep coming back to one word: appalling.

To be straightforward, I knew I wasn't going to like this show when I was asked to cover it. Whether it's sports, academics, or pageants - I hate seeing children pressured to achieve. Pressure undermines a child's natural inclination to learn and expand through play. Play by definition is not pressured. But as painful as it was to watch some of these children with their parents, it seemed even worse to watch them also being exploited for the benefit of the production company, advertisers and the adult "stars" who presumably were salaried to partake in this national display of child abuse.