"Kid Nation," That Reality Show Where 10-Year-Olds Lived On Their Own, Was Truly Wild And I Need To Talk About It

You may also remember this as the show that got shut down for violating child labor laws.

We all, as kids, at one point wished for a few days without parents. Most likely while watching the Jimmy Neutron movie or Home Alone.

Paramount Pictures

But does anyone remember the show that actually gave kids this opportunity??? If not, allow me to both enlighten and disturb you.

Kid Nation was a 2007 reality show that took this desire in an extreme direction. The show placed 40 kids, from ages 8 to 15, on a desolate ranch in New Mexico and tasked with creating a functioning society. BY THEMSELVES.

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Now, there was one adult — this dude — but all he does is host challenges every few days. Guy's in the show less than Chris Harrison was on The Bachelor.

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Instead of an adult being in charge, the kids would elect four of them to serve as leaders for the week and basically delegate tasks.

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The kids were also divided into four districts/colors underneath the leaders.

The council could also give $20,000 gold stars to kids they thought were good members of the community.

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Every few days, there was a town council meeting where the gold star was awarded and contestants were allowed to decide to go home.

Speaking of the council, does anyone remember Laurel??? She was my idol. I wonder what she's doing today.

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The challenges weren't awful — they were usually a mix of physical challenges or scavenger hunts — but things sometimes got messy when it came to the prizes.

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If all four districts completed the challenge, they were offered a choice between two prizes. One prize was fun (a hot-air balloon ride, a TV, hot pizza) while one prize was practical (additional outhouses, water pumps, a microwave). The town council decided which prize to accept, often leading to anger from the other residents.

But when they weren't competing, the kids had to do a lot of heavy physical labor, cooking, and cleaning. Which they were obviously not thrilled about.

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At the time, I was like, "Just shut up and do your part, Taylor!" But looking back...it was definitely illegal to have kids do this much physical labor. 

But there was a lot of other drama too, coming from things like vandalism, political mudslinging, religious differences, and moral quandaries. Who remembers the episode where one boy killed two chickens for their meat after a few of the kids banded together to try to save them??

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Were you as traumatized as I was??

Overall, the whole thing was pretty messed up.

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The kids couldn't even contact their parents unless they got a gold star.

Was it an interesting social experiment? Yes. Was it entertaining? Yes. BUT AT WHAT COST???

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Who allowed this show to air??? What parents allowed their children to go on this show?? SO MANY QUESTIONS.

The show was unsurprisingly canceled after the first season resulted in a lawsuit and concerns over the legality of the show. My fifth grade class was devastated because we all wanted to apply. Looking back...it was probably for the best.

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I didn't need my fifth grade immaturity broadcasted to a national audience. (Sorry, Taylor.)

Who else remembers this show? If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend a viewing party of the first episode.