BEIJING: China is banning the children of famous entertainers from appearing on hugely popular reality shows, as the country continues efforts to try to prevent the manufacture of child stars.

The ban by the government’s media regulator also covers appearances by the stars’ children on chat shows and reports about them on entertainment programs, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Monday.

Reality shows featuring attractive stars and their well-dressed, fashionably coifed and often somewhat precocious children traveling or performing tasks together have grown extremely popular with Chinese viewers in recent years.

However, apparently concerned with the growth of celebrity culture, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television ordered in July that producers of the dozens of reality shows on satellite channels cut back on appearances by minors and tamp down parts of the shows seen as attempting to make them stars on their own.

On Monday, Xinhua cited the administration’s latest order as saying, “Reality shows should pay attention to strengthening protection over minors and endeavor to reduce the participation of minors.”