Why stop at reality TV?

Today, both Dan and Michelle Cottle make similar points about the irresponsibility of the Gosselins in allowing their children to be filmed for reality TV. I agree; it is exploitative. The children cannot give informed consent to have their lives made public.

I'm not sure, however, that we shouldn't continue questioning the morality of using child labor when it comes to scripted fare. It is true that in the case of reality TV, the child's life is more directly exposed. That probably makes the situation worse. But it also seems exploitative to allow one's child to model or act when the child cannot give informed consent. Why is there this exception to child labor laws? We recognize children cannot enter into work contracts, have their parents enter them into such contracts, in most other arenas of work.

There are many things in a child's life to which a child cannot give informed consent: education, diet, etc. In order that children grow into healthy adults, we sometimes act without their consent. I know my child would receive no medical attention whatsoever if I could only get him to submit to an exam with his consent. But allowing a child to act or model seems to have (I have no data on this, just a general impression), generally speaking, a neutral or even negative impact on their lives. With some notable exceptions, many child actors, especially perhaps successful, famous ones, seem to go down in flames. But there are certain things that we do not allow children to do even if the benefits outweigh the harms ( we don't allow children to get married, even if we think it would in a specific instance be a benefit to the child). We are agreed that children generally cannot work in, say, a stockroom before a certain age even if it would greatly benefit them.

Now I can't imagine an artworld without child actors. And I'm sure there are many many healthy happy children who act and model who suffer no ill effects, and perhaps even credit their early acting careers with building character or camaraderie or what have you. I am sure, before child labor laws were established, that not every single child who labored was hurt by the laboring. That doesn't mean that the parents had the right to exploit them in this way. Rights should be respected without regard to harms and benefits. I simply wonder why we think parents have the right to allow their children to work in these circumstances, where we don't permit it in others.