Opinions of Suppernanny & Nanny911 shows

[Ericka1999]

I have lately been watching suppernanny & nanny 911 shows together with my DD's I have seen how Nanny Jo Frost & others are able to keep kids under control not only that change the family structure for the better.What do ya'll think about the ways that Jo Frost & other Nannies from nanny 911 use to keep kids under control?I think that it's amazon how all of those nannies do it.It makes me wonder if they need to have a degree in counsoling or somthing to be an expert at certain aspects like many times kids misbehavior is a problem that both parents have like relationship trouble.

[SpiderMum]

I'm not fond of them because not only are they most likely editing the heck out of the footage to give you the most dramatic before and after comparison...but I also don't like the type of control they impose upon the children. We practice Unconditional Parenting so I don't agree with using time outs and such.

[trinity6232000]

While I don't subscribe to the techniques on the nanny shows I think they're doing a bang up job. I know they edit the heck out of the show, making the family drama really good for TV, but seriously those families need help.

Like I said I don't subscribe to the techniques used on the shows, but I'd rather see these families learn these techniques than allow they're children to grow up in such turmoil.

Families need some sort of structure. Not only to work well, but in order for the children to feel safe. I grew up without rules, in a free spirited household, and I'm not the better for it. I wish my parents could have given me some sort of structure, even if it was a weak attempt.

I don't like the Nanny 911 show, but I do like Super Nanny. I think Jo Frost is a caring person (I think, I don't know her personally) and other than the "naughty corner" I feel most times her advice is spot on for the families she is with.

[moondiapers]

A friend of mine was so excited when a former daycare family of hers was on the show....she said that the kids are much worse in person This was the only family that she'd ever had to terminate for behavior...and she'd been doing daycare for almost 20 years.

[NewDirections]

I like Jo a lot. I don't agree with everything, but she does really care about kids. I wish she stressed the importance of breastfeeding though.

I often wonder though why she doesn't have children of her own?

[aniT]

I thought Nanny 911 was canceled. I haven't seen it in years. I do watch Supernanny as a "when nothing else is on show." And I do think she helps the families she is with. Although I wish she wouldn't harp on the kids sleeping with the parents. But usually these are extreme cases where the kids need some type of structure anyway.

[etoilech]

While I would not do all of the things they show on the program, I feel these families are in crisis and need help and that is what the Jo Frost and the other Nannys do. I feel overall, most of the techniques used are good and help a lot. I have some quibbles but, overall I think they *do* help families in crisis.

I do not like how sentsational the show is. THat I take issue with.

[Jennifer Z]

I used to laugh insanely at it because I knew that none of the techniques would EVER work on my son, and couldn't believe that they actually worked. Well, eventually I figured out that my son had autism, and all of the techniques they were using depend on the kid wanting to be in the middle of the action and are social consequences, and would be a reward for ds. Now that I have have a typically developing dd, I do find the ideas to be more useful, although I don't think everything would be a good fit for our family.

I do like that it shows non-violent solutions. SO many parents around me think that they ONLY way to discipline is spanking, so this is a huge step better than that.

[flapjack]

A lot of the stuff that Jo Frost does is standard for the UK's nanny training programmes (the old NNEB and the new diploma), and is the same advice you get from any health visitor or nursery nurse over here. Smacking hasn't been advocated at least since I became a mum. Oh, and yes, the training course is roughly equivalent to a degree

[sunshadow]

I haven't watched them. All I know about them is when my daughter was about 7 months old she would freak out when at the grocery store when I went to pay. I would go to her to calm her and the clerk told me I shouldn't do that because my child would get picked on in school for being a cry baby and then went on to say that on supernanny she said to never go to your kid when they have fits and on and on. I think my jaw hit the ground and I just said, "You are kidding right?" So, I don't know what message they are sending to people who think they know how everyone else should parent their child. I kept going to my child and amazingly she is just fine at the grocery store now.

[GuildJenn]

In general I think "decent television, not so great parenting."

I agree that a lot of the families are in crisis and so the help they get is helpful to them simply because they are. I do really like how in most of the shows they help settle into a routine/schedule so that there is more predictability for the kids.

I also know, from having been a nanny, that kids behave differently for nannies and daycare providers than for parents. That's because they don't trust them the same way. When I was nannying I never had any trouble with bedtime and I assumed that when I became a parent, my kids would toddle off to bed just as smartly as they had when I was the DCP. AHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Do I think that all the techniques are appropriate for my family? Not at all. I watched one show where they put the child into time out for 3 hours until she fell asleep exhausted. I was seriously in tears. If you have to get to the point where you are physically restraining your child for 3 hours, then the technique is not working.

I also think the shows are rough on parents and contribute to a society where parents are continually made to feel like they are doing the wrong thing and if they "don't get the kids under control right now they will never, ever, EVEREVEREVER learn." It's a circus atmosphere where the entertainment mostly lies in judging the parents, and it makes me sad.

Sure, in extreme cases it might be the case that intervention all at once is necessary. But it is not true a lot of the time. It's normal for a four year old to talk back at times. It's normal for a 3 year old to throw a tantrum. I've never seen that discussed.

[AnalogWife]

I really appreciate how Jo Frost holds the parents accountable for their own children. I've seen episodes of appalling parental selfishness where they relied on the adolescent kids to take care of the younger ones--these teens were treated like slaves that they didn't even care about, they were just there to work and to get yelled at. Makes me SO MAD! One mom (the one where one of the teen girls fainted) would come home and plop herself down and say that she was too tired to put the little ones to bed while her two other daughters were slaving and cleaning and schooling and taking care of kids all day...arg!!

Or when Jo points out when kids run out of the house and the parents don't even know where they are. I just can't imagine! It's like so many parents check-out of parenting-------I feel judgmental myself but when these people have 2+ that they can't handle, why do they go and have more?? Most of the families live in some big new house in some big new boring development, it's as if the people who race for the "perfect life with the 2.2 kids and the perfect picket fence" just don't think ahead to what they're actually DOING and they're screwing up their kids in the meantime. Or maybe they're just the same type of people who want to be on tv, IDK. Like others, I don't agree with JoJo 100% (and I've never seen Nanny911), but the people they have on the show make it evident how selfish some people are out there.

[angie7]

I personally enjoy the shows. I think the techniques really work both for the children and the parents. It's amazing to me how the parents are completely clueless that their actions are the reason why their children behave that way.

[kblackstone444]

Nanny 911 seems okay, but I really like SuperNanny. Jo Frost seems to really care about the entire family. Some of those families seems just so... lost. The parents really are completely clueless.

One of the first shows I watched, there was a WILD year old girl, and a very well behaved 9 or 10 year old boy. Jo helped the little girl and the parents, of course, but it just impressed me how she took the time to make sure she spent some time with the little boy as well, and also found some techniques for the parents to find time to spend quality time with the little boy as well, not just the "problem child". And the show where there was three young children, the middle one (5?) had Downs Syndrome, and Jo took extra care that her needs were met as well as the other two children.

[One_Girl]

I like their thing against spanking and for spending time with the kids. I also think that they are gentler than the family is in many cases and that they have good advice for out of control families. I think they give families a step in the right direction. The families want to be on the show because they feel they need help. I don't think a degree helps people. Many horrible parenting books have been written by psychologists and counselors.

[ann_of_loxley]

I do like that it shows non-violent solutions.

I don't agree that the show shows no violence. At least from a NVC perspective. There is more than one kind of violence, physical violence is just one fo them. And the shows are quite physical as well. I have yet to see a child happily take themselves to the 'naughty spot'.

But - whilst I don't agree with any of their techniques, I do think they help the families into a more idea situation. The families they show are so far beyond reach, I wouldn't even know what advice to give them/where to start myself. And the fact is, people think its great parenting advice! (I do not believe it is) - People watch it and think 'this is normal! - this is good! - this is how we should all parent! (the few shows I watched were whilst I was actually pregnant, I had seem people 'parent' this way, I was advices by family and friends to 'parent' this way, and of course, this is the advice you get from many health visitors and 'parenting classes' - so I too once thought these things)- and choose to follow such parenting techniques within their own family. They would be better off with gentle discipline advice and support. Its a shame more people don't know about - but no one is telling them and media sells.

I've seen a few shows just to see what all the fuss was about - its certainly not for me. I don't see that as entertainment. I also wonder about the right of the child. Who wants to be portrayed like that on tele? - Did the children have a say? Will they appreaciate their privacy viewed like that come 20 years time?

[funkymamajoy]

I'm kinda torn:

I like that they bring in structure. Usually these families are in desperate need of some structure.

And they don't believe in spanking.

However, they usually nix the family bed on the first night and encourage weaning toddlers.

[dachshund mom]

The editing drives me crazy. If you watch what the family's outfits, they're clearly just picking random footage and placing it in the appropiate day. Misbehavior on day one, perfect happy family on day 4. Sure.

[weliveintheforest]

It's nice to see Nannies helping famillies who are in crisis, but overall I don't like the shows. I hate getting advice from people who watched Super Nanny and know how to solve all my so called 'problems' like getting the kids out of my bed.

[Tigerchild]

Originally Posted by TatianaTiger

I like Jo a lot. I don't agree with everything, but she does really care about kids. I wish she stressed the importance of breastfeeding though.

I often wonder though why she doesn't have children of her own?

Hahahaha, the best birth control for me in my teens and early twenties was being a part-time nanny for the folks who couldn't get another sitter.