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Children and host Li Rui dress as cavemen during the third season of the reality TV show Dad, Where Are We Going? in October.[Photo provided to China Daily]

"The viewers think they are seeing the children's natural reactions to events, but after all that editing and reformatting the responses may not actually be all that genuine. What's more, some of the most-discussed scenes were engineered by a director on the set to make the story more interesting," he added.

Jiang Liang, a director of Hunan TV reality show Deformation Plan, said the artificial nature of the product is a major problem because the format makes the programs unsustainable.

"Kids in the shows look stereotypical - some look irritable, some look nice and sweet - but that's the result of cutting video clips together. How do they (the children) feel when they watch themselves on TV?

"Most people have never taken performing arts classes, and they know little about making TV programs, so it's hard to expect them to tell the difference between reality shows and reality," he said.

Liu Yan, a professor at the Institute of Early Childhood Education at Beijing Normal University, expressed similar concerns, saying hidden problems may arise when children are overexposed on TV, and that it can have a long-term impact on their lives when the show is over, especially if they have participated for several seasons spanning many months.

"Unlike shooting a film, where the kids can easily identify their given roles, children involved in reality shows may be affected later in life by everything they have experienced - the reactions of their peers on the show and the response from the public, including online bullying."

Liu used the case of Gary Chaw, a Malaysian-Chinese singer-songwriter, as an example. Chaw decided to stop updating his account on Weibo, a Chinese Twitter-like service, after he discovered that his son had become the target of malign comments that amounted to cyber-bullying.

Online rumors claimed that Chaw's 6-year-old son, Joe, had deliberately pushed 5-year-old Feynman Ng Chun-yu down a flight of stairs during the shooting of Dad, Where Are We Going? in 2014. Ng Chun-yu, the son of Hong Kong actor Francis Ng Chun-yu and now age 7, sustained an eye injury that could affect his vision permanently.

Chaw furiously denied the allegations. "Let me clarify. My son did not hurt Feynman. If my son was the one who injured Feynmen, I will bear all responsibility. Such accidents are unexpected, but why do my son and I have to endure all (the) scolding and humiliation? I also feel sorry for all of the kids (on the show). Since last year, every one of them has been scolded and insulted by netizens. Enough!" he wrote on his Weibo account shortly before abandoning the platform.

Francis Ng Chun-yu claimed that Hunan TV failed to ensure his son's safety, and later reached a settlement with the company over the injury.

Desire for attention

Another potential problem is that the young participants often become demanding and attention-seeking after being showered with compliments because they have been on TV.

"Some of the children become so accustomed to the camera that they need affirmation," Liu, the education professor, said. "The camera will no longer be there to shine a light on them, even though that light was never authentic, so they are going to seek other ways of gaining fulfillment."

Tian Liang, the former diver who is now an actor, admitted that the exposure his daughter gained by being on Dad, Where Are We Going? had affected her and complained that she now prefers taking part in publicity activities to going to school.

Liu said that despite their name, reality shows don't actually show life as it really is. "Reality TV has a good purpose - to show loving families - and that can be a good thing for children, but we didn't see any benefits for the kids who participated because the shows are scripted and every incident is carefully planned."

He suggested that the new regulations might be a good way of cooling the passions of some parents who take their children to acting classes so they can appear on television and become famous.

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