Supernanny

[dnt]

I really like "Supernanny" because a lot of the problems on this show come from parents who don't seem to understand that they have to play with their kids and then, when the kids get bored and rip the house apart, they don't know how to discipline them. Jo spends a lot of time teaching parents how to play with their kids and enjoy being with them and it's very heartwarming.

[zivvie]

It cracks me up how all these couples have these big, presumably expensive suburban houses that are decorated blandly or not decorated at all, just furniture stuck in a big white space. You never see any evidence of hobbies, or books or bookcases -- do they even read?

Our home had thousands of books in it and my sister and I were nowhere near as bad as even the best-behaved kids on Supernanny. Our parents read to us as well and, you know, paid attention to us. Coincidence? I think not.

Did anyone see the ep where Jo was working with a British family with 3 or 4 sons, and the kids were spitting, breaking things, etc. for fun? I can't even begin to think what would have happened if I had tried that in my home. I'd probably still be orbiting the Earth.

[spinsterliz]

Every time I watch this show (or Nanny 911) I am sooo glad I don't have kids. But like everyone has said, it's usually the parents' fault anyway. I can't get over how often kids on this show hit or kick their parents. When I was little, it would never have come into my mind to hit my mother. I would have been a ton of trouble (and rightly so). But these idiot mothers are just like, "Ow. That wasn't nice, Brandon." Retch!

[Mugsy]

These kids are brats because of their parents, no exceptions. The parents:
- are obsessed with being their kids' friend and don't want to seem "uncool" by having and enforcing rules and restrictions.
- are obsessed with their jobs that they're rarely home, so that when they do see their kids, they don't want to spent that scant time disciplining them; on that same plane, these kids probably have so many authority figures (parents, teachers, babysitters) with an assortment of rules, that they don't know which to follow.
- are obsessed with having a perfect house (see post above from chiqui) and a yuppie lifestyle that actual kids seem to throw a wrench into it; the idea of kids fit in with their "vision" but the reality was something else once they had toys and made messes with their food and whatnot.

Those of you who are glad you don't have kids because of this show - you would probably be decent parents because you can see the difference.

[mariposalabrown]

I only like the first half. Once the kids start to behave, I change the channel. Supernanny is my own little form of birth control.

[shawnalanne]

My husband and I are trying to breed -- so I began watching supernanny to see if I could pick up any tips. But it's all so common sense. Set boundries, do what you say your going to do, don't verbally abuse your kids. Grow a spine. It's pretty much the same every show.

[kanding]

I agree. Supernanny got stale very quickly for me simply because the situations are so very much the same. I prefer BBC's Tiny Tearaways because they focus on some very specific problems like a child refusing to eat, a child who doesn't want to be weaned, or has trouble sleeping alone. The solutions presented are similar to those in Supernanny, but there's enough variety to keep the program interesting.

[dwanollah]

I caught a couple of these eps (I think one was Super-bomb-diggity-nanny and one was Nanny Smackdown or somesuch), when I was staying at a hotel last month. It seems to be fairly predictable that the weak parents with bratty kids have always named their spawn 2-Cute, UberTrendii names. Like "Ashlynn." *shudder* I think the nanny should berate them for that as much as the failure to set boundaries.

[chiqui]

I love the Supernanny's suits. Whoever does them has impeccable tailoring, and they prove that even if you're overweight you can look professional and polished.

[batmom]

I've watched this show and the Nanny 911 a couple of times with Batboy. They've been useful to illustrate to him how parental discipline benefits him: Does you want to play with kids like those on TV? No Does you want to be like those kids on TV? Heck no! Do you see how, by failing to teach those kids how to behave, they've become little monsters? Yeah Now do you understand that by punishing you for your misbehaviour we're helping you? Sort of

Not that he thanks us the next time we send him to his room, but he kind of gets it. We don't watch the shows anymore, though. Too loud and repitive.