Tantrums already over ‘Kid’

Even though it’s not set to premiere until Sept. 19, a new reality show already is causing quite a stir.

I have yet to receive a preview, but the commercials, blogs and Web hype have piqued my interest about “Kid Nation.”

CBS is taking some heat for the show from the New Mexico attorney general’s office and union representatives who are taking the show as an opportunity to air their grievances with reality television.

The show plops 40 children, ages 8 to 15, in the middle of the desert near Santa Fe, N.M., and gives them 40 days to build their own world out of a ghost town.

They cook, clean, haul water, and run businesses – there’s even a root beer saloon – all without any adult assistance. It’s the lack of adult supervision that has many upset, and the allegation that inspectors weren’t allowed on the set to inspect work permits.

But CBS says otherwise, telling the Los Angeles Times that the inspector chose not to come on site, and the network’s lawyers said the children are not employees and therefore did not need work permits.

I’m betting that although there’s bound to be chaos and drama (otherwise it wouldn’t be good reality TV), this child community will come up with some ideas and lessons of which we as grown-ups should take notice.

The potential problem, according to the New Mexico attorney general’s office, is that some laws, including child labor laws, may have been broken during production. Activists for children want to know whether the families violated truancy laws by allowing their children to participate, and union representatives are upset with reality shows’ contracting practices.

I say they’re all just scared that they might learn something from these children who see the world in an entirely different way that might actually offer some insight into the problems we have as a society.

“Kid Nation” premieres at 8 p.m. Sept. 19 on CBS, and I’m hoping the show doesn’t get pulled before it starts.