LeDentalPlaque I watched a few episodes of Season 1, but didn't really get into MasterChef Junior until Season 2, starting from about the 3rd or 4th episode. First off, I must say that all these children can definitely cook. It's inspirational and shocking to see them so talented at such a young age, and to even think about what they could become in the future is jaw-dropping. Throughout the entire series, you can see their imagination and creativity flourishing in the dishes they make, and even their accomplishments wow the judges to no end.However, even though I do enjoy watching these kids cook, and the judges aren't as strict and mean as they are on the adult version of MasterChef, I am not enjoying the arrogance and personalities portrayed by some kids. On national television, TV personalities and in this instance, these kids should be role models for the youngsters watching this show. Yes, they can cook, which is inspiring, but there are many phrases and comments they say that should not have been in the show at all. They should have been edited out. Like others have said, bullying was present along with these kids giving each other snide, hurtful remarks. These are not scenes that you want your children to look at and learn from - after all, it is a show tailored towards kids of all ages. From the show, some of the kids act like they are know-it-alls and better than the rest, and when the judges praise them for their performance...that indirectly states that they're okay with that behaviour. In an already tough and stressful world, we don't need more generations learning from such behaviour on television, especially a reality one with kids as a main audience.If they could tone down the arrogance and spiteful remarks that these kids have for each other, and just keep the fun, playful and competitive components, then this show could have a lot of potential. As of Season 2, the amount of arrogance and bullying seen in the episodes has turned me off of watching future seasons.

Mela8 At first watching this series I was certain it was going to be a mini-me version of the adult show. Lots of great food, some talented cooks and lots of backstabbing and dysfunctional behavior. What a surprise, these kids were wonderfully genuine, their food knowledge was astounding and the camaraderie they exuded was truly refreshing. Certainly during the shows there was some "I'm better" talk, and not every moment was a jewel, but all in all these kids could teach the adults a lesson or two in good manners and decent behavior. The food these children cooked blew me away. There willingness to use and eat foods outside their comfort zones was a lesson in itself. Add to that that they rooted for each other, helped each other and in the end hugged and comforted each other was without a doubt the best part of this show. It restored my faith in the ability of people to work hard strive to achieve and remain connected to our fellow travelers. I have never had a bigger smile on my face watching a show! Here is to many many more seasons!

vsersch15 In the day and age we're in, facing a huge problem with bullying, I think last nights show was terrible. Troy bullied that little girl almost the whole time they were in the kitchen and he gets kudos for it. I know no one patted him on the back for it but the underlying message is that it's OK to have bullying, even in a working situation and it's NOT. Parents have a hard enough time trying to teach their kids the right way to treat people and last nights episode fell right through the cracks. I've worked in kitchens and that is just not acceptable! Kids have a hard enough time growing up as it is now. They are forced to be small adults before they're even ready too. To be accepting of that kind of behavior is wrong. There's enough bullying in school, on the playgrounds, and sadly in jobs to be allowing it to happen on a kids based show. I do agree that kids should learn; age appropriately, that there will be winners and losers and at some point you will be on each end of it. I do not however believe we should be promoting a winner as someone who treats people like Troy did, I don't care how good the kid cooks - teach the lessons parents are stressing to teach their children!!

TragicBloom Being a fan of Masterchef, I felt compelled to share my thoughts after watching episode 1 of Junior Masterchef:The first thing that hit me was how obnoxious all 3 judges have become! I mean GOOD GOD, why are they trying to be so playful and cute here? It's like this show is the tinytoons of MasterChef. And when they're not acting ridiculously cartoonish, they're coming off just plain awkward, or even intimidating in some cases! Ramsey playing with the Asian girl's stupid bow, or him playing cupid - inquiring a 12 year old about her love life (wth was that about?), or Graham's stone-faced "WHY ARE YOU CRYING?". The commentary is smack you in the face pandering (their repeated murmurings of disbelief about how challenging the task is for kids so young, or how "this is CRAZY", or asking "So you've never worked in ITALY?" or "Do you wear that shirt when you're gambling?"). The notion that these are normal kids picked out from a street campaign is also ridiculous. Of course I'm just assuming this is how they were selected because the who, where, and how part of this abortion was skipped altogether. One thing is clear though, these are NOT normal kids. It was like they were conditioned from birth to perform - all of them. One girl said how she really didn't like cooking with organs, another said that she started working with homemade pasta at 4! In what kind of a privileged, silver-spooned world do 4 year olds dabble in homemade pasta? Are these kids Brad n Angelina's - are they a Trump?? Even with a privileged upbringing assumed, their skill is still too unrealistically high. We have 7-12 year olds here; each one of them finished the challenge with a respectable dish, one I'd feel lucky to eat ... it's clear they've had, and ARE currently receiving, plenty of guidance from JMC personnel.So senseless. This is a high-pressured environment, a cooking contest, where even professionals can get sloppy and make mistakes, yet we have 7-12 year olds handling knives and full-blown boiling water, and there's large equipment tucked away on high shelves with no stepping stools anywhere in sight (except at the cooking stations). All the while, the parents gawk on from above like jack-assed, pastel wearing goons. It's commendable how much importance the judges place on protecting the kids' feelings, too bad it's done with no grace. They give the slightest hint of a suggestion of a critique, making the viewer and kid think there's nothing to be alarmed of, then they immediately counter it with a very unconvincing, almost sarcastically upbeat "great job :)!!" - making it clear just how dissatisfying they actually find the dish to be. It was soon clear that this was the judges' "tell" whenever they dropped the axe on an innocent.Yes, after all this clumsy care for the kid's emotional welfare, they throw it all out the window by inexplicably and somewhat arbitrarily sending half of them home. 12/24 little lambs were slaughtered in a blink of Ramsay's eye! And for what Ramsay .. FOR WHAT??! Well, for the trophy of course, that hunk of plastic that's designed to bring these bright-eyed children to each other's throats. A couple of observations: 1) Alexander is the ringer, a 30 year old executive chef planted within JMC. 2) Jack is the coolest, that kid says what he feels. 3) You have the BALLS to send Nathan home Ramsay? Dude's 7 years old, he could barely pick up the food processor he was required to use, and STILL put out a dish that was restaurant quality. 4) I hope there are elimination rounds coming up ... (shrug).