Dating shows influence little girl's views

(ECNS)-- A 9-year-old girl's mother is worried about her daughter's obsession with TV dating shows, according to the local Wuhan Morning News.

Xiaoyu began watching dating shows with her grandparents two years ago, and it seems their comments and analyses of the show have been flittering through her mind.

Xiaoyu started talking to her mother about girls' preference for a "gaofushuai" (short for tall, rich, and handsome male) boyfriend, which worried the mother, surnamed Zhang. "She is too young to understand love yet, but has been influenced by the thought of choosing 'gaofushuai,' " she said.

Some topics in the programs were too mature for her daughter, which could do harm to her development, Zhang added.

A survey of 153 school kids in 3rd and 4th grade shows that 40 percent have watched dating shows and 20 percent thought they were fantastic.

A 4th-grade boy, Xiaojun, said dating shows are more interesting than cartoons. "Through the shows, I learned that girls like successful boys, which means I will not be loved unless I do well in school," he said.

Professor Mei Zhigang, a sociologist at Central China Normal University, said it is necessary for parents to give kids positive reinforcement when they watch these shows.