To think supernanny doesn’t need a come back

It was essentially the Jeremy Kyle show with children and a uniformed woman staring angrily through her glasses.

There’s also a lot of advice you can access nowadays which means you can get suggestions that can be contradictory or confusing.

I am ‘someone in education’ as well.

We don’t need to claim that teachers are a cut above the ‘awful’ parents we see out and about who don’t engage with their children.

There are going to be children we teach who have special needs, diagnosed or otherwise. There are going to be children we teach from backgrounds that are turbulent and troubled and they and their families may need support and help and kindness, not judgement and sneering.

My children aren’t perfect. I’ve tried really hard and I do cook homemade meals and I take them to interesting places and lots of fresh air but they can still both be complete arseholes sometimes and if anyone wants to shake their head and ‘sadly parents today’ at me they can get stuffed.

The problem with televised shows is that for producers it’ll always be about the entertainment factor, not about spreading awareness or genuine education (even if Jo is in it for the right reasons or not). So a lot of the bad behaviour and screaming and whatnot will be exaggerated, children will likely be pushed in to those reactions and we’ll be told it’s because Tilly doesn’t like her bananas cut in to 5 pieces, only 4.

I would hope that Jo has adapted her approach over the last 20 years, you’d expect that in any profession really. But the biggest part for me is reflecting back at some of the episodes I’ve watched with the lens of what we know about ND today and wonder if she is best equipped for that.

One of the little girls from the show is now on TikTok and has a whole series about how coached it was (at least for older children), and Jo herself has said how much the producers wanted her to have certain 'scenes' in each episode

That being said I think her ethos of boundaries and consistency is a good thing

As someone in education I question the words, parenting technique, as sadly not a lot of parenting going on. Too busy on various platforms to engage with their children. Makes you fearful for future generations.

I quite like this sort of programme and I think a lot of parents are putting their children on social media anyway these days, arguably a regulated TV show is more ethical. I would rather see one that acknowledged that some of these children might benefit from an Autism/ADHD assessment and took into account neurodiversity though. But as a previous poster said, there was some shocking parenting on there and generally families did seem happier afterwards.

I followed a couple of her techniques - mostly about consistent behaviour from parents building a good frame for the child. Helped enormously with bedtimes - being boring but present helped my son be calm and settle at night. Being neutral about food helped him slowly develop his palette while being relaxed around mealtimes.

If she updated the show with new techniques and focus around neurodivergent parenting that would be a good thing. So many parents are struggling, particularly those with undiagnosed neurodivergence themselves.

However the 90s/00s style shaming people and exploitative drama production needs to be gone for good!

It kind of would work on mine … if she did it! If I tried to enforce a naughty step <hollow laugh>

I always remember a moment where a kid sprayed water in anger at a mum and the mum picked up the nearest water and drenched the kid really aggressively while she was watching on the camera. The mum said after he just pushed my buttons and the dad said he started it. I think a percentage of the population needed the ensuing talk about you being the parent and how you can’t retaliate, about how a family needs to calm down etc. Reality tvis where some people will get their advice from

It wasn't all bad.
I remember her recognising PDA in a young boy who the mum was finding incredibly difficult. This was a long time ago and the first time I'd heard the term.

The point about her not having children is completely irrelevant. My surgeon had never personally experienced the surgery he performed on me - and yet did an excellent job. She is a well trained experienced professional.

I do agree that children should not be used as entertainment.

She has a lisp (like me) and it pisses me off when people use that fact to be spiteful.

Also the episode of supernanny I found upsetting was the woman with 2 toddlers and the older one was out of control, but his middle brother had died of cot death a few years previously. It was really sad and I felt so bad for the mum, trying to control her son but show him love at the same time. Poor woman

Remember a copy of supernanny called "little angels?"
My husband's ex, mother of his kids sister was on an episode with her 3 kids. In one scene the 2 daughters, aged about 12 and 10 were sat on the sofa in just their knickers. Looking back any old nonce could have been watching!

Agree. It would never work on my two. We did try her technique for a few weeks to get one of mine to sleep. He won. In the end we found his issue was actually medical just to make me feel doubly shit about it.

Agree.

I used to watch Supernanny, then I had children, and couldn't watch it anymore, it went against every ounce of maternal instinct I had.

Funny really as my childless sibling always used to give me unsolicited parenting advice. Absolutely fucking clueless.

I think a lot of people have views on how children should be raised and disciplined, I sure did. But the moment my first child was born and in my arms, my whole world changed and I instinctively went naturally into the attachment style parenting.

Do I think that SHE specifically needs to be back on our tv with the methods she used in the 90s? No.

Do I think that there are a lot of parents with basically feral children who could do with some robust parenting advice nowadays? Yes.

I'm uncomfortable with children being shown at their worst too.
She has some good advice but can be nit picky.
I don't think it matters that she doesn't have children. She can look on in a more detached manner.

I would honestly love her to try and use her techniques on my two.
It would not work.
I’m sure for many kids it would be great, but throw ASD/adhd/pda into the mix and it would make excellent tv, but maybe not show her in the best light.
I’m not going to let my kids on tv, so there’s that.

Unfortunately I think her style of discipline and the way it was portrayed in tv shows adds to the negative view that so many spout online, that parents are basically idiots. It encourages people to criticise others when they know nothing about what that family is going through. For that reason alone, I hope it never comes back. The exploitation of kids on all platforms is abhorrent and needs to be banned.

I genuinely think she saved me from a breakdown when I was on the edge with sleep deprivation. For that I will always be grateful!

Megan the girl who pulled her up on her pronunciation has spoken about her time on the show. Its exactly as you would imagine, exploitative and fake. I'm sure shes on tiktok for anyone who's interested.

YANBU. She recently spammed a post on an Instagram for parents of children with Autism that have PDA. I think at this point she has gone down the Katie Hopkins route, trying to attack people for the sake of the publicity.

I agree with the last part 100%.
I don't agree with the first part, I think she gives great parenting advice and you can definitely be an expert without experience. Does a midwife need to have given birth? A probation officer be an ex-criminal? Clinical psychologist have personal experience of severe mental health?

I always liked the show, and the kids were always happier after, instead of the chaotic bad parenting.

I did follow some of her advice when I had my eldest children, although I didn't ever do time out as that never seemed right.
Nothing wrong with routines, boundaries and consequences.
She's not a parent but does have a lot of experience working with children.