“Children as prime-time accessories”

There’s now a description for Octomom, the parents of Balloon Boy and others who use their kids to gain fame or notoriety. In ” When Kids Become Tickets to Fame ,” a recent story from The Christian Science Monitor, staff writer Mark Guarino quotes a media analyst who called the trend, “children as prime-time accessories.”

“Parents and children are a combo that has reliably enjoyed the media spotlight’s glare for decades,” he wrote. “But what makes this current crop of fame seekers different is that they are primarily using their parental dysfunction to launch media careers.”

Some of the experts he interviewed noted how television and social media have encouraged this bad behavior. Family also used to be a private matter for some celebrities, but now, the children of famous people — including the president and his wife, a vice presidential candidate and of course, movie stars — have become part of the spotlight.

The article also quoted Susan Linn, director of Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood: “We are in a culture where everything is for sale. [That means] we are really dealing with the commoditization of everything, including children. With the proliferation of electronic media, there are many more opportunities for children to be exploited.”

Linn advised parents to be careful about posting videos of their kids on YouTube, to consider the impact of technology on a child’s development, and to become more aware of their kids’ right to privacy.

Her advice made me a little self-conscious. After all, I write about my kids in this blog, post occasional photos of them on Facebook (but not YouTube), and don’t really think twice about whether or not they want me to share their childhood adventures and anecdotes with others. I’m certainly not like Balloon Boy’s parents, but I wonder now if I’ve ever crossed the line.

Do non-celebrity parents also run the risk of using their children to get attention?