Already in October there was criticism after the announcement by VTM that it would make a TV program about intended parents who make a child together. After conversations with prospective parents who signed up for I want a childVTM will pull the plug itself.
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Already in October when VTM last year the program I want a child announced, got the channel strong criticism† The program would follow ‘desired parents’. These are people who have a desire to have children, but are unable to obtain one due to circumstances themselves, and who consciously choose to bring a child into the world with someone else and to raise it without there being a romantic relationship between the two biological parents. The future parents therefore do not necessarily know each other in advance.
In a first episode, the channel made an appeal to prospective parents who want to participate. Now, four months later, VTM reports that the program itself will no longer be made. That decision came after discussions with prospective parents who had responded. In a press release, Maarten Janssen, channel manager at VTM, says that the channel wanted to break a taboo with the program.
Not for the cameras
‘From conversations with people who have registered, we are currently establishing that the need for information and guidance is very high, but that most prospective parents prefer not to complete the process in front of the cameras,’ says Janssen. ‘It was never the point of departure to make the program at all costs. What we did want to do is consciously draw attention to co-parenting. We will therefore continue to support the theme and will not leave the people who have registered for the program out in the cold.’
VTM also says that ‘all information that the editors of the program could puzzle together will be shared with the intended parents involved’. The experts who would participate in the program also remain available to the intended parents who had entered the VTM program. “Those who wish to can also get in touch with the other people who have signed up,” the press release said.
Controversial
In October, both the Minister of Media, Benjamin Dalle (CD&V), and the Commissioner for the Rights of the Child questioned the program. ‘Having a child is quite different from buying a house or even finding a partner. I hope the program makers have thought carefully about the framework’, said the minister.
Children’s rights commissioner Caroline Vrijens was already concerned about the children in October. “It seems to me difficult to put such a complex theme into the format of an entertainment show,” she said at the time The standard† Although she thought a debate on the theme was a good thing. ‘The illusion is created that such a complex problem can be solved in a simple TV program. This program wants to arrange something that is not regulated by law. That is dangerous.’
The format was also food for debate on the opinion pages of this newspaper. ‘The VTM program I want a child is not a bridge too far at all’, wrote columnist Tom Naegels† Former VRT network manager Wim Vanseveren responded and talked about ‘an irresponsible experiment’.
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