The Commissioner for Children on Wednesday issued a statement to express her concern about the negative impact of a number of local television programmes which portray children in a harmful or inappropriate manner.

In her statement, Carmen Zammit said some TV programmes encourage children to participate in behaviour that is not suitable to their age, while in other series the vulnerability of certain sectors of the young population is exploited.

It is apparent that the commissioner’s office has received several complaints, with people demanding the withdrawal of certain programmes and calling for a more sensitive awareness in the production and promotion of others.

We are in no doubt that the commissioner’s intentions in this regard are good. She is doing the right thing in shedding light on such exploitation. She is doing her duty to protect the interests of children, and urging the responsible authorities to take action where this is needed. But this is not enough.

First of all, Ms Zammit should have been more open as to why she is so concerned. She did not elaborate on which situations she was referring to, although the use of the phrase “precocious behaviour” could be an indication that she was referring to sexual activity. Ms Zammit should have been more outspoken on a matter that is, after all, of concern to all parents.

Secondly, Ms Zammit should have gone a step further and named the local television programmes that she was referring to. By speaking in general she has left too many question marks hanging, and probably added to the confusion in people’s minds. While watching their favourite shows on local TV, viewers will now be wondering which programmes were identified by the commissioner as having a negative effect on children. Is this the one? Should my child be watching this? Would it help if I explain what is happening?

The least she could do is provide the list of these programmes to the Broadcasting Authority which is, after all, also responsible to see that all that is featured on local television stations does not go against the interests of society, or of particular sectors of society.

If the commissioner has not done so, the Broadcasting Authority should immediately be making contact with her to find out which programmes she was making reference to. Unless the names of these programmes are revealed to the BA, then it would be useless calling for action to be taken. The authority should insist on having the list.

The matter goes further than that, because it is not only the BA that should be told about the programmes. The public also has a right to know what the commissioner believes is not the correct way that children are portrayed.

Parents of young children have the right to know which programmes, in the commissioner’s opinion, are negatively affecting their children. They need to know either not to allow their children to watch such programmes or, if they think that their children are mature enough to understand, explain that certain situations do happen to other children.

The producers of these programmes also should be told of the potential harm they are causing. They might have their own plausible line of reasoning, and the BA should listen to their explanations. But at the end of the day if action needs to be taken – and this could simply be that certain programmes are declared to be suitable only to adults – this must be done in the shortest time possible.