Children Reality Shows Will Corrupt Them Someday

Children music television reality shows is gradually finding space in our art and entertainment industry but it's adverse moral ramifications seem not to have come to the attention of the organizers and the general public.

Children are beautiful souls to behold. It is very heartwarming watching children emulate or mimic what adults do. To that effect, some television stations organize children reality shows to excite it viewers. From viewer-ship, positive public comments and sponsorship for such shows, it's obvious the television stations have made a prudent decision of implementing children music reality shows.

Undoubtedly, children reality shows are helping unearth the talents embedded in children. However, another side of the coin is the moral decadence that the society will face someday. Below are some reasons why children reality shows can corrupt children sometime to come.

SINGING OF SEXUALLY APPEALING SONGS: The type of songs that some of the children are made to sing sometimes contains sexually burdened lyrics. For instance, in one episode, a child was allowed to sing a song like “Agyeii” by R2Bees, to the extent that this child memorized lyrics which says; “with boiling lust, I will thrust into you for you to scream out Agyeii!” A young child of 12 years was allowed to sing a song that was ousted from Ghana Music Awards because of the above lines. What kind of orientation is being fed into the cerebral cortex of this child?

DANCES AND PERFORMANCES: The kind of dances these young children portray on stage is one that if you're a highly inquisitive parent, the question you must ask yourself is; how did my ward learn to dance such moves? The way and manner some of these children wriggle their waste and shake their buttocks (in the case of the females) can cause an impotent man to gain erection at spot.

The deep question is; where do these children learn such sultry dances from? Obviously, from the uncensored sexually oriented music videos that are shown on the various television screens. If a young child of 12 years can portray such sultry dances shamelessly on stage, it is a signal the kind of debauchery life such a child can live.

THE CHALLENGE OF EGOTISM: Showbiz is one circle of life that imbues ego and arrogant propensities into a person. This ego and arrogant tendencies are big challenges to even adults celebrities in showbiz. Handling it is very difficult for adults, not to talk of children. As these children go through this phase of showbiz, gradually their ego and inbuilt arrogant propensities will be whipped up and nurtured.

Finally it will mature. When it matures, how will parents handle their wards? Balancing and handling this egotism in school amongst their peers is a big challenge which has not been thought of. Such children might immaturely exercise superiority complex over their peers and by so doing, make enemies unnecessarily. As children, they may not be able to define and to differentiate between courage and arrogance. Recently, a young contestant in one of the children reality shows had the sheer temerity to accuse and to play smart on the integrity of the producers. Eebob? ba!

DISTRACTION TO ACADEMICS: Every talented child's fantasy will be tickled by watching his/her fellow children show their talents on screens with welcome of cheers. In this vein, more talented children will be devoting more of their time learning and rehearsing songs, dances, jokes, playing the piano and other talents portrayed on the show. As children who don't know time management, they might do so at the expense of their books or academic works.

The above is even before the child enters the contest. Upon entering the contest, the young child of 12 years will be tasked with devoting ample time for rehearsals, performances, visiting recreational places, academic works and family life. Adzen! At the end of the day if the child wins, what happens? The experience does not add much to his/her academics neither does he/she become a musician.

THE FEAR OF EVICTION: The psychological effect of being evicted from a game is so grave that even adults can't stand it. It is more disturbing to the mind especially when one least expects to be evicted. Each time the eviction segment is exercised, the tension, nervousness and disappointment that characterizes the atmosphere is roiling to emotions.

Finally, if a child who through consistent hard work has won audience acclamation is evicted, the grave effect is that such a child will find it very difficult believing in the society due to sentiments of betrayal. In one past episode, a child was evicted and the atmosphere was a sad-emotion-laden one. Many were those who accused the organizers for hiving the child off the opportunity of reaching the grand finale. Again, if such a child is not properly counseled, the sentiments of betrayal can drive such a child to see him/herself as a looser for life and perhaps, may never avail him/herself for any future of such opportunities as an adult.

Organizers of such children music reality shows should not see this review as a stymie to their hard work. The objective is not to excoriate children reality shows but rather; to trot out as well as give a wider picture to the effect of the show. Though the show has got many positives, the negatives must also be analyzed and addressed. We can't and should'nt pretend to over look it.

As much as these organizers can pick a clue out of this review to better their program, parents should also bend the rules to their interest; because the ostensible picture of the reality shows is to help children unearth their talents but any negative effects that come with it will be breasted by the parent and not the organizers. So parents, the decision is in your hands.

A humble admonishment to the television stations is to start exploring more non-talent but academically motivated reality shows like; what do you know about Ghana, our culture, history, tribes, African heroes, folktales (Ananses?m), debatable issue reality shows and other academically related shows that provoke children to read books. Talent is an eternal gift embedded in the soul. Whether a child portrays it by contesting in a reality show today or not, it will manifest someday when the child becomes an adult. Most of these children may not even end up becoming musicians but academics is what will propel them from depth to heights.

Some of the points raised in this review may not be seen, realized or felt today but in future, when a proper scientific study is conducted into the effects of these children music reality shows, this review might stand vindicated.