For years, I have maintained that children do not belong on reality TV shows.
Adults? Well, they can do any darn thing they want. If you're legally an adult, you have the right to make an absolute fool of yourself in any number of ways.
And we've certainly seen a whole lot of not-so-mature adults do just that.
Children, on the other hand, are an entirely different story. They shouldn't be used to hype ratings. They shouldn't be held up to ridicule — and everyone on every TV show is held up to ridicule in this Internet age when any idiot with a couple of IQ points feels free to comment.
Kids shouldn't be used so that adults can make money. Not even when the kids themselves make a small fraction of that money.
It doesn't matter if their parents sign off. Frankly, any parents who allow their kids to be on a reality TV show ought to have their heads examined. And their parenting qualifications questioned.
I've pointed this out consistently since reality shows came into vogue, with shows ranging from "Super Nanny" to "Wife Swap" to "Kid Nation" to "Brat Camp."
Children shouldn't be subjected to the kind of scrutiny that goes with TV exposure these days. It's cruel and unusual punishment.
For that matter, sometimes parents have to be more circumspect even if they don't put their kids on TV. The divorced parents who made total fools of themselves on "Class Reunion," airing all their dirty laundry, were nothing short of reprehensible for embarrassing their children.
What I honestly never anticipated was that a show like "Jon & Kate Plus 8" would fall into this same category.
I've been aware of the show since it began. (It's part of the job, you know.) Last year, my college-age daughter got me to watch a marathon of episodes on TLC — and I was hooked.
As the father of multiples — albeit just twins, not twins and sextuplets — I found it fascinating. And adorable.
And it was fun to tell my kids that, while there are fewer of them, they did exactly the same sorts of things as the Gosselin twins and sextuplets.
I never imagined that this cute little show would end up creating a tabloid sensation — any more than Jon and Kate Gosselin did.
Last Monday's season premiere was one of the most awkward things I've ever seen on TV. The tension between Jon and Kate was palpable.
Lots of kids have to go through their parents' marital problems. Most kids don't have to do it with 9.8 million people watching.
(That episode was the most-watch show on any network — cable or broadcast — on Monday night.)
And, just to be clear, I'm not blaming the Gosselins for their decision to do the show in the first place. Any such criticism comes under the heading hindsight-is-20/20.
When they first agreed to allow cameras to follow them, it was a one-time special and the Gosselins figured it would be a great keepsake. When that led to the series, who could possibly blame the couple of thinking it would be a way to help support their suddenly huge family?
If I'm being honest with myself, I'd have to admit I would have done the same thing. I'll go from one kid in college to three kids in college this fall, and I'd love to have some TV money socked away.
Five years ago, the Gosselins never imagined that their lives could become as complicated as they have become. I'm sure they figured that marital trouble — even divorce — wasn't something that would hit them.
No one ever does.
And now comes word that Pennsylvania's Department of Labor is looking into whether the show is complying with child labor laws? Yikes.
TLC maintains it is indeed in compliance.
I'm not pretending to know what it's like to be them. I'm not passing judgment upon them, because I don't have either inside information or magic powers of discernment.
Not that that's stopped a whole lot of other people from judging the Gosselins.
While I'm not going to armchair quarterback their lives, I'd suggest that "Jon & Kate Plus 8" should be a cautionary tale for everyone else.
Don't put your kids on TV. Don't think that you're going to beat the odds and that everything will turn out great.
If you're wrong, it's not just you that will be harmed. It's your children.
E-mail: pierce@desnews.com