'Little adults' are not funny

In an era of audience ratings, advertising revenues and dreams of stardom, more and more parents are entering their kids in children's talent shows. These parents and the viewers of such shows are promoting the premature adultification of children, says an article in the China Youth Daily. Excerpts:

In one show, along with singing the song You are my rose, You are my flower, a little boy knelt on the ground and presented a rose that he held in his mouth to a little girl standing next to him. TV is filled with such shows where children imitate adults to entertain viewers.

The reason that more and more children participate in such talent shows and beauty contests is that some parents become dazzled by the possibility of success. Under the negative impact of TV, Internet and other media, some parents contribute to the premature adultification of children.

Parents and audiences must both take some of the blame for this unhealthy trend. Some parents want their children to find overnight fame, and many audiences take pleasure in seeing children talking and acting like adults.

In the United States, beauty contests for children have become an industry worth more than $5 billion. Most parents think their children are the most beautiful children in the world, and some parents want their children to be acknowledged as such by the rest of the world. They dress up their children, and send them on stage to perform in front of complete strangers, who will give the children a mark based on their talents, skills and appearance. The winner takes home cash and other prizes, while the loser is usually left feeling heartbroken and worthless.

Parents who let their children participate in such shows can hardly absolve themselves from blame if in the process their children become precocious. Neither can the TV viewers whose delight in such antics contributes to the proliferation of such shows.

(China Daily 07/06/2012 page9)