Did CBS Scar the Psyche of 40 Innocent Children?
The first new show of the new TV season for CBS is “Kid Nation,” a reality series in which 40 children, ages 8 through 15, live without parents or modern conveniences as they organize a community in a former New Mexico ghost town. The kids cook, they clean, they haul water, they operate stores and they elect a town council and no one goes home unless they want to. And they also get exploited by producers who violate labor laws and show emotional moments of their experiences that will haunt them for the rest of their lives. Actually, that last sentence might not be true. Producer Tom Forman certainly denies it. Still, he concedes that labor laws in some states, including California, would preclude its being produced in the Golden State. “It is provocative and it is controversial and we knew we’d have to answer questions,” Forman said. And what about the idea that kids who cry, look silly or act funny on the series will become the butt of jokes and unwanted nicknames that will stay with
