Paul Petersen: There is 'damage being done to' the Gosselin children

Petersen

In the second time this month a major media outlet has discussed the Gosselin twin's appearance last January on the Today show, Paul Petersen has spoken out to Yahoo T.V. The child advocate and former child star had this to say about the twins' "choking" on national T.V.:

""That was the most frightening example of the damage being done to these kids. They were incoherent. They couldn't say what they really felt. They'd been turned into these performing seals, and not for their own benefit. If they had at least been child actors, they would have a support group of similar kids. I think this is doing tremendous long-term damage — the kind of damage that you really don't see until 10 years later."

Osmond

Just last week, the hosts of The Talk, two of whom are former child stars, had similar criticism for the appearance. describing the twins as "shell-shocked" and "overwhelmed." Marie Osmond added, "As a parent, you need to look at your children's needs individually. I saw that Today show. Those girls didn't want to be on T.V. They shouldn't be on T.V. and that should be her responsibility as a mother."

Thank you Paul, Marie, Sara Gilbert and other former child stars who give these children a voice. You know better than anyone the dangers here. Of all people, Kate should listen to you.