"Child Genius" on Lifetime...???

I saw this show for the first time tonight. I am speechless. Has anyone seen this show? Some of these parents… I don’t even know what to say. Pushy pushy pushy!!!

I have watched it from the beginning. It has been interesting to see the personalities of the kids based on the behavior of the parents.

I thought Ryan was refreshingly rebellious and rambunctious. I loved his spirit. Until I saw him crying his eyes out after being eliminated. It ruined the whole show for me.

I did like how the other parents were so supportive and encouraging of him, though.

Personally I have a huge problem putting children on national TV in these reality shows. I think it’s an invasion of privacy for kids who cannot give informed consent. I may be too strong on this but I think it should be illegal to put kids on national TV in these shows. I don’t have a problem with child actors, because they’re not playing themselves.

^^^This. Plus, at least from what I saw during my single episode viewing, it looks like these kids are just memorizing a boatload of “trivial pursuit” type facts. And spending a lot of time and emotional energy doing so. How is this a measure of “child genius?” I prefer to think of kids this age exploring and making natural discoveries.