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Dance Moms Toddlers & Tiaras

Why you need to stop watching Dance Moms and Toddlers & Tiaras, even though they’re entertaining

by Andy Dehnart 26 Jan. 2012 | 9:22 am

Dance Moms has Abby Lee Miller, who’s a made-for-TV character with her awful screaming and horrible behavior, and the dance moms themselves certainly contribute a lot of entertainment with their hypocrisy and stage mom personas. And Toddlers & Tiaras is like a trainwreck and fascinating to watch.

But they also have kids who don’t deserve to be publicly humiliated, even if they’re sometimes little brats. Would you have wanted your childhood’s worst moments broadcast to the world and mocked by people online and elsewhere? In a Daily Beast essay, I make that argument.

I do struggle with this, not just because the shows can be entertaining, but because I find other shows that star kids to be far less egregious, such as CBS’ awesome and underrated Kid Nation (deal with it!).

I’m never one to think that we need to protect kids from what they see on television, such as language or sex, but when they themselves are television, that’s a different story, I think. It seems pretty unethical to produce, broadcast, and watch these shows. Here’s why.

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about Andy Dehnart

Andy Dehnart’s writing and criticism about television, culture, and media has appeared on NPR and in Vulture, Pacific Standard, The Los Angeles Times, and other publications. He has covered reality television for more than 18 years, and created reality blurred in 2000.

A member of the Television Critics Association who serves on its board of directors, Andy, 41, also directs the journalism program at Stetson University in Florida, where he teaches creative nonfiction and journalism. He has an M.F.A. in nonfiction writing and literature from Bennington College. Learn more about reality blurred and Andy.

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reality blurred is your guide to the world of reality TV and unscripted entertainment, with reality show reviews, news, and analysis. It was created in 2000 by Andy Dehnart. He's still writing and publishing it today.

reality blurred is regularly updated with highlights from the world of reality TV: news and analysis; behind-the-scenes reports; interviews with reality TV show cast members and producers; and recaps and reviews of these reality TV shows, including Survivor, Big Brother, The Great British Baking Show, Shark Tank, The Amazing Race, The Bachelor, Project Runway, Dancing with the Stars, Top Chef, and many more.

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