I don't think kids under a certain age should be allowed on there anyway. It is too much and children should not be put in that kind of pressure situation and under that level of examination.

In the entertainment and sports industries we have seen far too many cases of kids getting burned out before they reach maturity.

It was all well and good Cowell trying to justify it the other night by saying that Hollie's final performance justified the argument around kids being in the show, but it's not just about that one night, it's about the whole circus that then surrounds them and takes over their innocent little lives. It was reported yesterday that Susan Boyle had been admitted to the Priory Clinic with exhaustion and she's an adult.

It's not fair on the kids and you really have to question the responsibility of the parents that put them in and TV producers who go along with it.

Let them enjoy their childhood

That's all well and good but what about the child? What choice do they get and at that age, take Hollie for instance, are they really in a position to make a good decision that's right for them?

How many burnt out child prodigies get past their moment and washed up in their 20's even wishing they had not been put through it?

Sorry but it's wrong. the child isn't old enough to decide what is right, the parents are irreponsible and the programme makers should be ashamed of themselves. The experience could easily damage a child for life.

Not completely. Pushy parents do their kids more harm than good. Hollies mum seems like a prime example.

To be honest, I don't think that these shows actually exploit the kids - I watched a highlights show from earlier in the series last night and thought that all of the judges, Ant and Dec and some other presenter bloke were actually really sensitive to the kids even if they didn't do so well. When this issue was in the papers a while back, one of the ITV blokes said that all the young contestants are checked out first so that if they are really rubbish they won't go on stage, hopefully saving them the public embarrasment.

I think it probably is a bit OTT to suggest that it could scar them for life without also recognising that it could also be a really good experience for them: If they do well then it could really build their confidence, if they don't do so well then they'll have learnt a valuable lesson, i.e. you don't win them all!

Huge amount depends on the parents and people around the kids. A kid with good support will more than likely react well to whatever happens.

Do understand whee Ian's coming from though - I have seen quite a few programmes on TV that exploit kids for 'entertainment'. Personally I'm more concerned about the reality shows that deliberately pick very thick adults simply for their entertainment value. At least kids have a certain degree of protection because of their age. TV companies can pretty much do whatever they like to take advantage of an adult who doesn't know better.