CBS' Kid Nation Almost Brought Me to Tears

The headline of this story is very true. Kid Nation almost made me cry... several times. Yet sometimes it was from laughter and sometimes it was out of sympathy for the kids involved.

The kids on Kid Nation are adorable. As an adult watching the show, I couldn't help but smile as these young children tried to run a town. And though I was laughing while they tried to cook, and when one kid joked, "Don't worry, I know my mom's credit card number," my heart also broke as the show went on.

I went to sleep away camp when I was in third grade. To say I was homesick is a massive understatement. My mother says that's when she first got gray hair. I cried every day, all day. I missed my parents, my TV (of course), my home, my air conditioner, my pets, etc. Going to sleep in my little bed each night was hard. It was lonely. It wasn't the bed I was used to, and my parents weren't there to say goodnight. But, I had the camp owners and counselors who functioned as my surrogate parents for the two months. They tucked me in each night. There were also cooks in the kitchen who prepared our very edible food. And I got to play, not work, all day. (Note: I ended up loving camp and went for 9 years.)

Not on Kid Nation. These poor kids go to sleep on thin mattresses on the floor with no adults. Granted, the idea of the show is to discover whether or not kids can run the world better than adults. And while I bet they probably can, that doesn't mean they don't need adults in their lives. These kids love and  need their parents. To not have any adults around them must be extremely difficult. When the kids cried about missing their parents, I totally understood where their pain was coming from. What they're doing cannot be easy. And though it's extraordinarly sweet when the fourteen year olds try to cheer up the ten year olds, it's still not the same as having adults around.

My heart especially broke for Jimmy, the young boy who decided to go home. He knew he was too young for the experience, and even when the older boys tried to make him feel comfortable, Jimmy wanted to be at home with his parents. I wanted to give him a hug through the television set.

With all that said, I think Kid Nation will do well. Heck, I'll be watching it. No, I don't like when a kid gets hurt and no adult comes to make sure he's okay (at least not on camera). Although it's the point of the show, I don't like the lack of adults at all. I do love the idea of seeing if kids can run a town better than adults. The kids are smart, funny, cute, and entertaining. And so I'll watch Kid Nation for them, cheering them on, hoping they can show adults how it's really done. But that doesn't mean that my heart won't break when the going gets really tough. And because they're kids, it'll be more than okay if the tough decide to get going... from Bonanza City!