[Ashley.]

I didn't really know where to put this thread so I'll put it here and let the mods do whatever they want with it.

I've been watching a lot of panel shows lately, and it baffles me how ridiculously limited some celebrities are in the "knowledge" section. I came across that Countdown spin-off show that Jimmy Carr does with his Cat pals, and I just couldn't believe how some of the celebrities on it failed to solve a simple maths problem or think of a word more than three letters long. Maybe I'm being narrow minded, but you've also got Joey Essex, who is making a living out of doing ****e in school, which is possibly one of the most important things a child should do as it could quite possibly set you up for a future.

It absolutely pains me that people are actually idolising people among the likes of Joey and Danny Dyer who are so utterly stupid, and I fear that children will soon begin to think that if they don't bother trying hard in school, they'll still get famous and/or do well in life. In this life, you can't rely on "maybe's", as it's getting even tougher for young kids to get a career, especially if they don't have any qualifications.

So my question for you is, are modern-day celebrities setting a bad example for young children?

[Ammi]

....hmmm, no not really...back to the beginning of time..(well sort of..) there have been people who have been famous/celebrities in all different things, who didn't necessarily do well in school..Marilyn Monroe who was the original 'dumb blonde..?...you don't have to 'qualify' to be a celebrity, that's the beauty of it really...

..there's maybe more 'Z list' celebrities now because of the rise of Reality TV shows but then their celebrity is quite short lived anyway for most of them, it just gives the their moment and Reality TV shows are mostly after water shed time so not really something that young children would be aware of/any of the contestants there so influence at all...I don't know any young child who would know a Big Brother housemate or have even heard of the show....

[GypsyGoth]

There will always be some people who are proud to act dumb, it's like some sorta badge of coolness for them, but I don't think celebs influence that attitude much. I'm pretty sure they'd behave that way regardless.

[Smithy]

It's not a celebrities responsibility to raise someone else's child