By Bernadette Giacomozzo

(continued from page one) It's one thing, of course, to criticize adults in the public eye, regardless of how they got there. Even I, myself, have been at the epicenter of scrutiny -- a scrutiny which isn't entirely unwelcome. After all, I'm of the belief that one can only learn from fair and objective criticism.

It's another scenario entirely, however, when children enter the public eye, more often than not under the "watchful guidance" of their oh-so-loving parents, who may -- or may not -- have delusions of celebrity themselves. All you have to do is look at Dina Lohan, Lynne Spears, and any member of the I Know My Kid's a Star cast to know that the word "stage mom" was invented for these people.

Consider the case of TLC's popular reality show, Jon & Kate Plus Eight. Paul Petersen, one of America's first-ever television stars (he played the son on The Donna Reed Show from 1958 to 1966), is now a "child star" advocate. In 1990, he founded the child-actor support group called A Minor Consideration to improve working conditions for child actors and to assist in the transition between working as a child actor and adult life, whether in acting or in other professions.

Like the rest of America, he was initially intrigued by the concept of Jon & Kate Plus 8, especially when it was called "Surviving Twins and Sextuplets" and aired as a documentary on the Discovery Health Channel. Now, however, Petersen is disgusted by the entire concept. "It's no longer a documentary of anything except the obvious and substantial distortions that the presence of filming can have on children," he told the National Enquirer last month. "It's time for Jon and Kate to demonstrate true character and call a stop to this."

While Petersen has no problem with reality shows in general, he has an issue with Jon & Kate Plus Eight in particular, and shows that focus on children in general. Fame has a corrupting effect on adults, Petersen argues, and children without proper guidance are destined to suffer a worse fate than those adults who willingly submit themselves to the Hollywood machine (be it in the form of a reality show, or a "traditional" network show). He goes on to say that "showbiz animals" have more protections than "child stars," and that includes the Gosselin children.

"Children in the entertainment business, in case you didn't know, are exempt from Federal Child labor law, and have been since 1938," Petersen said about the show. "Pennsylvania has no published child labor laws for kids in entertainment. Ask yourself the following: If anyone in the Gosselin home is being paid, who owns the money? Are there limits to the number of hours a child may work per day, and anyplace they can't be filmed? In the end there is only one question worth asking: What will become of these children?

"Jon & Kate Plus 8 is not the same as Meerkat Manor," he continues. "Children are not the same as animals being filmed in their natural state. There are, or at least there should be, rules when children are employed [or participate in] the Entertainment Business. Make no mistake, after four years of their most private moments being broadcast to a nation of voyeurs, the eight children who make up the "+ 8" are 'performers' in every sense of the term. They need and deserve the protection of the law."

Nonetheless, it can be argued that the entire "reality television" genre has become a chimaera, a complete distortion of the truth about the most mundane things in life, from parenting to meerkats in sub-Saharan Africa (and yes, even a distortion of attempting to garner the attentions of a washed up 80's rock star. The 80's were an era of decadence, an era which seems like a parody in 2009). Life is not theater, and any attempt to make your life nothing but a form of living theater will end up tears...for yourself, and for everyone else.