The National Council for the Child against Channel 12's "Great Parental Test": "The Children as guinea pigs" - Walla! Berenger

2023-05-16T09:17:34.905Z

Highlights: The National Council for the Child filed a strong complaint with the Second Authority requesting action against Keshet 12 on the basis of the Protection of Minors Law. The council writes that in its view the format is not suitable for the participation of young children, even if their parents, their natural guardians, chose to do so. Keshet: "The preparation of the plan is done with the utmost care while preserving their dignity". The Great Parental Test, Premiere Episode: "Parental Guidance"

The council filed a strong complaint with the Second Authority requesting action against Keshet 12 on the basis of the Protection of Minors Law. Keshet: "The preparation of the plan is done with the utmost care while preserving their dignity"

The Great Parental Test, Premiere Episode(Photo: Screenshot, Keshet 12)

In recent days, the National Council for the Child has received a number of inquiries regarding the series "The Great Parents' Test," which is currently airing on "Prime Time" on Keshet Channel 12. This is a reality show with the participation of parents and children, most of them elementary school age and even younger. The program puts the parents' educational approach and the dynamics between them and their children to the test, while presenting various challenges that they must perform with the children in front of the cameras. All this under the scrutiny of professionals and other parents participating in the program, who interpret and criticize their behavior in front of the viewers.

"From watching the episodes of the series that have been broadcast so far, this is an intrusive format in which the level of exposure of the children is particularly high. Thus, the children are filmed in personal situations that reveal the dynamics with their parents; They are forced to face frightening and stressful challenges while expressing distress; with criticism and comments about their conduct and their family; And it is evident that they experience feelings of guilt for "performing" in "competition"; and are exposed in complex emotional situations," reads the letter from the National Council for the Child.

The letter also states that in the two episodes broadcast on May 6, 5 and May 23, 8, the children were subjected to the "stranger test," in which a stranger (actor) approaches them and tries to coax them to come with him. This, as stated in the broadcast, was done without the children's knowledge that they were being filmed at this time, and even without their parents' knowledge that this was a challenge on behalf of the program. The episodes that aired showed a number of children who supposedly "failed" in the challenge, and could have been hurt. "We believe that alongside the importance of raising awareness of risk situations to which children may be exposed, in this case it is a serious violation of the privacy of the children being photographed, and the consequences of exposure may be even more severe. Moreover, it is inevitable that children are serving as a kind of "guinea pig." Even if such a situation causes an important discourse on the subject of protection among parents, we believe that the end does not justify the means," they added.

In addition, the council writes that in its view the format is not suitable for the participation of young children, even if their parents, their natural guardians, chose to do so. "Since this is a program in which children participate, who, due to their young age, maturity and cognitive ability, cannot necessarily understand the significance of exposure and are not aware of the implications it may have in the long term, they also cannot give informed consent to participate in this program. It is clear to us that there are cases in which the details of minors are exposed on the Internet and social networks, whether by others or on their own initiative, and that in the current technological age there are new and complex challenges in protecting and protecting the privacy of minors."

In addition, it was noted that the promo for the next episode that will be broadcast presented parents with the question: "How many of you have punished your children with physical punishment?", and according to the proposal, the very presentation of the question sends the message that physical punishment is related to the method of education and that it has a place. Physical punishment is violence for all intents and purposes, it causes very serious harm to the child and is strictly prohibited by law. Finally, they concluded, "It is the responsibility of every established media outlet to strictly protect children's right to dignity, their right to privacy, and their right to control information concerning them. Children must be protected from serious and unnecessary invasions of their privacy and their short- and long-term consequences for their lives. In addition, such a media entity must exercise control and supervision over the content and messages transmitted to the viewing audience that may harm the right of children to protection and security."

Keshet responded:

The international format "Parental Guidance" was successfully produced and broadcast in Australia, the United States, the Netherlands and is currently being produced in other countries. We believe that it is appropriate to deal with issues that require caution and sensitivity, such as parent-child relations, issues of parenting and education and the difficulties involved, while optimally safeguarding the children and parents through strict ethical-medical management and compliance with the Convention on the Participation of Children in Second Authority television programs. The production of the program is guided and supervised by Keshet's ethics team under the direction of Prof. Gil Siegel and combined with experts from the field. The program is prepared with the utmost care and while maintaining the dignity of the children and their families. The hypothesis presented in the complaint letter regarding harm to children is neither grounded nor unfounded – the combination of parental autonomy and their choice to appear on the program and present their educational doctrine, and the careful handling of children's exposure in the program, create a balanced outline for diverting public attention to substantive issues in the way children are educated.

"As for the stranger challenge, this challenge creates direct exposure to the risk to children in the public sphere, and of course the children posed no danger and were not presented in a way that harms them or their privacy. As for the saying about the trailer, according to which one of the chapters will deal with punishment, unfortunately the phenomenon of corporal punishment still exists in Israeli society. Refraining from dealing with the subject will not cure it - quite the opposite. In the chapter in question, it could be seen that some parents do confess that they raised their hands on their children, but in no way do they themselves or the facilitators justify it. On the contrary, the firm position presented opposes punishment of any kind and does not accept beating children in any way."