To think Super Nanny Jo Frost has lost the plot?

[Pekoe78]

Assuming she sanctions the views on her social media page. Jo Frost has shared this bizarre scary post claiming that an unclean home is the “number one sign” of child abuse. How is she getting away with such inaccurate information? Surely she knows the difference between abuse and neglect and that actual abuse can happen in any home. If a child is actually suffering from real neglect, simply telling the parents “clean your house” is not going to help a complex situation. So what is she trying to achieve apart from making parents terrified of being accused of something because they are behind with cleaning?!

You need a towel for the dog, a towel for the door and a towel to clean the towels, otherwise social services will be informed.

Don't forget a washing machine for the outdoor towels as well as one for the indoor towels and a separate one for the dog towels (and probably another one for the dog )

Pooch needs a high temp was as they are very unsanitary. Best buy a single use one.

Kind of wish we had two washing machines and two dryers and I'd sit in the middle of it all like Dot Cotton but dressed head to toe in black, what washing?

I think that it's standard safeguarding guidance that not being clean is one sign that things aren't right. Obviously social services won't get involved with anyone with a dirty jumper but it all adds to the bigger picture.

Neglect is abuse. There's many types of abuse, neglect is one of them

No she has not lost the plot.
Like it or not this is true. But child abuse does not equal unclean home and unclean home does not equal child abuse.

Example: https://www.safeguardingworcestershire.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Home-Conditions-Assessment.pdf

Tbh I never agreed with the way she works anyway

🤣🤣😂

Dirt isn't harmful per se. There is a huge range of "clean" and "dirty", it's not black and white. It's also massively subjective and culturally variable.

Compare a bath or shower with a little scuzz to dirty nappies being left out.

Dustballs and tumbleweeds of pet hair on a wooden floor compared to layers of filth and dust in a house with allergies.

It's been shown that overly clean environments aren't healthier - we live in a biological soup including ourselves.

I think this is just a judgy woman making a controversial statement. It's not definitive by any means

Uh she's not a nanny she's looking for engagement first and foremost explain it now?

It's in all ways a stupid statement.

If your house is filthy enough to be unsafe, that's not a sign of abuse, it's actual abuse itself. If you're at this stage, then a meme saying "clean your house" isn't going to help.

If your house is a bit of a state, and it so happens that you are also abusing your kids in other ways, cleaning the house is low down the list of priorities here.

So basically, this "advice" is only helpful for those people who are looking for ways to hide their child abuse better.

She doesn’t say it causes it. She says it’s a sign. Which it is.

There are lots of signs that indicate abuse - I mean children don't want to live in dirt.
Overall she does really good work I say leave jo frost alone

That’s exactly how I read it Cheesus

YABU she's not wrong

Mentally stable and resilient? The past generations?! Repressed, depressed and angry is closer to it. I don’t know which world you live in, but it isn’t the same one I live in.

But now young adults all have anxiety and can barely function in the world.

I'm mean these are both sweeping stereotypes so neither are true. I'm sure how anyone can say that living in a tip is helpful for children.

@stomachameleon
I have been in houses that the smell, God the smell was awful. You had to try not to breathe. It absolutely is worrying to me and indicates abuse.

Me too. The worst one was so bad I had to try to breathe through my mouth. I've also come out of a house with fleas on my clothes. Poor kids who have to live like that. In my experience, the most dirty and unsanitary houses always had parents who didn't work, meaning they had lots of spare time but didn't spend it cleaning or tidying up. It does indicate abuse.

Abuse and neglect are linked but different things.
clean and tidy are linked but different things.
An unhygienic/dirty home is child neglect when it’s a regular thing. It is a safeguarding issue.

Even lack of bed frames is classed as a negative flag, it's just something they note down. I just call it a floor bed though, it's actually safer in many ways.

There’s plenty of children suffering abuse from parents with OCD conditions, including being beaten for not keeping up standards. She’s not wrong about filthy homes and neglect but it’s not the only form of abuse.

So why is she telling people to clean their house?

That's why it is confusing.

The problem is Jo Frost opens her mouth and makes sweeping statements without giving enough thought about what she is saying.
She's had too much power too soon in my humble opinion and is not always qualified to make such big claims. I do not think she is a Social Worker or Health Visitor or any kind of professional who has training in recognising the risk factors in a child's home.
This statement leaves us having to use conjecture to make sense of what she says. Look at the number of replies saying 'maybe she means' this, or 'I think she's saying' that. It's not right when someone like her makes broad statements which are not clear. She has a lot of power over many people who will take in what she says and find this statement very threatening. She needs to be more responsible and think before opening her mouth.
Of course a bit of dirt in the house isn't going to signal a child is in danger! Far from it! If a child happily comes indoors in muddy wellies carrying a dirty bucket of pebbles to show his mum then I call that a good sign. I remember seeing a toddler run up to the bed where mum was in hospital holding new baby, and complete with wellies still on, he jumped up and got in with her so he could cuddle baby too. I just thought what a lovely home that baby would be going back to.

Exactly.

My youngest could climb out of her cot at an alarmingly young age. My husband built her a bed which was about one inch above the floor and then made a kind of big play pen round it so she could not get out and hurt herself while we were asleep at night. One person who visited said it looked as though he had built her a cage! But then what is a cot if not a baby-cage?