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?!

She doesn't mean untidy, washing out, dishes not done - she means living in actual filth. And if your children are living in those conditions, of course it's abuse.

I have been in these houses. You do your best not to take a seat.

She’s not talking about a couple of skid marks in the toilet and some fluff on the floor though is she.

As pp pointed out: she isn’t talking about some messiness. I’m fairly certain she isn’t talking about cleaning your loo and bathroom every second week instead of bi-weekly.
or forgetting to check up on your home-made kombucha. (<= which case: don’t drink it! Throw it away and clean your equipment thoroughly.)

she’s talking about squalor. About genuinely unhygienic conditions with are potentially hazardous to a child’s health.

I do however agree with PPs: there is a difference between abuse and neglect. And she should be aware of that.

I - as a pp - am also wondering if she isn’t simply telling some intentionally abusive parents how to get away with.
The kinds of parents who are evil and unhinged enough to keep a spotless home, “tidy” kids etc. to hide their crimes.

She has no expertise. No suitable qualifications and has always given advice that goes against current understanding of child development. IMO she isn’t someone to listen to about child rearing. Does she even have her own?

No I don't think she has lost the plot.

Children living in a dirty home/squalor are at higher risk of abuse...indeed this neglect is a kind of abuse.

She's not talking about a home with dishes in the sink, hoovering overdue by a week or so...it much much worse.

Those who have cause to visit other peoples' homes as part of their job will understand this better than most, because they've seen it with their own eyes.

It's badly worded. I don't think it's meant to read as "clean your house and magically stop abusing your kids" or hiding evidence - I think it's meant to read as the correlation between a neglected home often means neglected kids. Which is true.

Neglected, dirty houses, truly dirty that you can smell from the door, wouldn't take a seat in, use the loo or consume anything from, wipe your feet on the way out level of dirt, that does usually mean kids' needs have been neglected too, and that's abuse.

Even if the fact is true, I don’t understand her point. Is she saying:

• Clean your house and it will magically stop you being abusive to your children?
• Clean your house and it will cover up the fact that you are abusive to your children?

Why does she have to have children to give advice? She has more experience with kids, than most people.

And yes, a filthy home indicates more than neglect usually. Mentally well people don't live in chaos like that.

But are the types of people who live in genuine squalor going to read a Facebook post by Supernanny and suddenly see the error of their ways? Surely those who are more likely to see it are people with slightly messy or untidy homes who are then just going to feel shit about themselves and panic that social services will come for their children?

A neglected, dirty home goes hand in hand with neglected, dirty (through no fault of their own, obviously) children. Sad but not a stretch to believe.

And your feet stick to the carpet! In fact I once had to kneel on the carpet and had black knees when I got up.

Interestingly ( years ago) I was told that someone had to call in to our infection control nurse and her home was awful.

Shoes sticking to the carpet. I know it well

Came out once with cat shit all over my shoes, ingrained in the sole, then had to drive to next appointment, nothing I could do, so all over my car pedals

Binned the shoes, couldnt get them clean

Yes to black knees and faeces on shoes.

Why does anyone take any notice of this awful bullying woman

Her post isn’t about helping people it’s about making those that feel (and it will be women who are struggling) they are not worthy, they are not doing their best worse

sums up her career

My house is far from clean at the moment. This is because We moved our business to premises double the size and have less than 10 days off since October. My kids are not neglected or abused.
Maybe she means horder level dirty?

Even if the stats demonstrate that a high % of DC suffering child abuse it's very very badly worded.

It's more likely to be the case that parents have a dirty house AND abuse their children due to underlying mental health issues and/or struggles. That point would make sense.

The part that makes no sense at all is that where she's (in a round about way) suggesting that cleaning the house would stop the child abuse. As if it's the dirty house causing the abuse.

It reads very much like "if you want the abuse to go undetected, clean your house" - which I really really hope is not what she means

She has tons of expertise, has been in the business of supporting children and their families for decades.

What advice does she give that goes against current (and note the word current, these things swing back and forth) child development understanding?

People really love to hate her and thats because she speaks her mind and doesnt tolerate wishy washy excuses. Like all over this thread.

Agree but telling the parents to clean the house isn't exactly the solution is it??

1st point of her post makes sense. It's the 2nd part that everyone is questioning

Neglect is the most common type of abuse. Weird you seem to think it's not.

Exactly this.

Unsurprising that it's badly worded as her grammar is often poor. She could employ someone to write her SM posts.

As a pp said, her approach is not supported by people who truly understand child behaviour and development. She's a TV pundit (based on her work as a nanny) nothing more.

It could be an indicator that abuse may be occurring so further investigation would be good.

I haven’t heard her name mentioned for the best part of 20 years!
In my former job I’ve been into families homes where they have young children and seen the correlation between living in squalor and child neglect. It’s not as simple as ‘clean up your home’, I think it’s clumsily worded but I’ve seen a link myself.
And of course abuse happens in clean and tidy homes too.

It's akin to saying "many alcoholics live in dirty neglected houses. Clean your house so you're not an alcoholic (or at least not seen as one)"