Well-planned
I REFER to the letter from Mr James Chan headlined, ''Irresponsible programme'' (South China Morning Post, August 11).
In the letter, Mr Chan opined that parents might imitate our Jade programme I'm Old Enough and send their children off for shopping alone. Mr Chan's comments were noted with great concern, but we wish to stress that it was clearly explained at the beginning of the programme that it was a controlled experiment to observe how ''independent'' children would react when left alone.
Although the children were sent off for groceries, shopping without the company of their parents, they were watched closely and were well protected by the filming crew to ensure absolute safety of the children.
The whole process of the experiment was well-planned and showed no signs of negligence.
The programme, by itself, did not mean to encourage parents and never suggested to parents that they leave their children alone, but instead, it tried to initiate parents' understanding on child development.
We are grateful to Mr Chan for the interest shown in TVB and for tuning in to Jade.
WINNIE HO Corporate and Community Relations Manager External Affairs Division Television Broadcasts Ltd
