Nanny TV: Supernanny and Nanny 911

[Deleted]

It does usually focus on people who have like 4 toddlers, and I always think, "You know, not alot of people in this world can handle taking care of a mess of babies and toddlers, you needed to look inside yourself and see if you are one of those people before you had all those kids." I know people (here and in the real world) that can, but these parents on the show seem to let life happen to them, most of them have absolutely no control over their lives.

Its a hard line to walk- people need to understand that toddlers are unpredictable and can act out and will make scenes and are definitely not tiny adults. But on the other hand, parents need to grasp this too, and remove them from situations where they are going to annoy other people. I can't watch Supernanny anymore, because I just want to reach thru the TV and smack someone. Thankfully, LilB does not act like those little hellions. Most of the time.

[Spinderella]

I adore Supernanny. I don't think she's trying to make people appear that her techniques are going to change things over night at all. She's very clear in what she does and that it's all about making the effort to start the change and improve how to manage your life and your children. Once the key elements are in place and the people have the basics, they can gradually improve the quality of their life and their children's.

Some people just let themselves get so wrapped up in everything that they just let the chaos ruin their lives. Jo helps immensely and I love her for it. Her methods are BRILLIANT and they work. It's just about sticking to it and being consistent.

[ivy]

Wtaching these shows is like watching an especially shitty episode of Maury Povich or Jerry Springer-it's kind of uplifting, really, because you can't help but feel better about yourself when you see these trainwreck people on t.v. The mothers are always so awful, doing nothing all day but saying, "Don't do that! Please, honey, that's not nice. Oooh, why did you do that? I told you that wasn't nice! Go into a time-out. No, honey, STAY in the time-out. Hey, what are you doing in your bedroom? I said you had to be in a time-out." Etc etc etc etc while the child pays absolutely no attention to any of it. Gives me a headache just thinking about it and yet I can't help but watch. Like I say: trainwreck factor.

I've noticed that both these shows cater to the upper-middle class. I have never seen a nanny on either show go help a family living in a trailer or a small rental house, which would be a nice change. Instead, the families often have really big suburban digs with large yards, which makes me wonder why they can't afford to hire their own nannies instead of calling one from t.v., but whatever.

I have a question about Nanny 911, why are there two different women called Nanny Yvonne on different episodes? One is much younger, but they are both called "Nanny Yvonne". Is it just a coincidence that the two women have the same name? I'm confused.

[grumpygirl]

It's beyond toddlers with too much energy though, often the kids are cussing, hitting, biting and just out of control. The parents are afraid of them and never say no. Just wait until they're teenagers people.

My niece acts like she's been raised by woofs. She interrupts, eats with her hands, can't have a conversation and is just generally horrible. I blame ALL of it on her mother who is correcting her one minute, praising her for the same behavior the next minute, then screaming at her. If you say anything to her, she goes off on you. Oh, and best part, she's a pediatric nurse in a well-known pediatric hospital.

It's very disturbing. I'm just hoping that she grows out of it. Oh, and the dad is so afraid of the crazy wife that he doesn't say anything to try to keep the peace.

[batmom]

I'm always amazed by how many of the parents don't see that it's their own behaviour that has caused the havoc. They seem to think that their children are broken and that the nanny should fix them. Or they want the nanny to not be able to fix them so that they can say "See? Not our fault." That's why so many of them are resistent to implementing the nanny's suggestions.

And yeah on the oodles of young kids. Here's a hint - if you're overwhelmed with one child, wait until you introduce a second. If you're overwhelmed with two kids get your tubes tied and stop the madness.

[dwanollah]

I've noticed that both these shows cater to the upper-middle class. I have never seen a nanny on either show go help a family living in a trailer or a small rental house, which would be a nice change. Instead, the families often have really big suburban digs with large yards, which makes me wonder why they can't afford to hire their own nannies instead of calling one from t.v., but whatever.

Part of the reason they're overwhelmed is because they bought the McMansion, the Pottery Barn/PBKids furniture, the station wagon and SUV, and the go-carts the kids run each other over with all on credit, so Dad's working two jobs to barely make ends meet and cover the minimum card payments and Mom's mad because he won't let her get mani-pedis and-

Making generalizations based on my cousins? Who, me?

[Deleted]

I will say this in defense of the show -- which I've decided no longer holds Trainwreck Appeal (that's handled quite adequately by I Love New York) -- it sure comes in handy to reference when my oldest friend (for 33 years!) whines about me not coming over to visit him and his wife and two hellions darlings. "But why? It's been so many months since you've come over to visit!" "Aw, dude, I've just been too busy." "That's no excuse." "Okay, you know that show Nanny 911 and how it's impossible for adults in those households to have a simple conversation without screaming interruptions?"

"Oh."

[Deleted]

bstewart, why don't you guys just go out and get away from the kids? Is it one of those situations that where once they had kids, the wife expects the husband to be home every night to help and does not approve of her husband doing something fun without her? And said kids?

Because I would NEVER be like Dwan and generalize about all my friends. Nnnooooooo.

Supernanny started doing some shows with some lower income families because they were getting alot of criticism with the McMansion eps. I saw one with a single mom that lived in a tiny house and I actually felt really bad for her. The overwhelming trend that I used to see is that alot of these shows had fathers who were complete assholes. They were just MIA when it came to parenting, or they were really indignant about Jo's rules. Like, "Well, what I am doing is not working for shit, but I will be damned if some British woman comes in here and tells ME what to do." I think alot of the situations were that the dads were not crappy parents as much as they were crappy people. And I loved to see them get smacked down!

I have a confession, I took LilB to get new shoes yesterday. By the 5th store, he was getting punchy and when I told him that he had to sit down and try on shoes, he hit me. In the face. In front of a salesperson. So what do you do in that situation? As a parent, often you have to think quick. If we had left, that would give him what he wanted- to not try on shoes. If he were older, I could have told him, "OK, no shoes." and that would have punished him. But he is TWO. He did not care a bit about getting new shoes. So he got new shoes, and by the time we got home, he loved them. So I am somewhat sympathetic to these parents of toddlers.

ETA: But I did use my "Mean Voice" with him. I thought about Time Out, but could not find a suitable place in a sporting goods store. Ah, parenting.

[Yossarian]

Sorry, guys, I know some of you loved the birth control title but we think that could lead to the kind of "some people shouldn't breed" discussions that don't really belong here. Thanks. [/nanny mod]

[Deleted]

borokat said:

bstewart, why don't you guys just go out and get away from the kids? Is it one of those situations that where once they had kids, the wife expects the husband to be home every night to help and does not approve of her husband doing something fun without her? And said kids?

Because I would NEVER be like Dwan and generalize about all my friends. Nnnooooooo.

Heh. Oh, borokat, what I've described is but the tippy-tip of a dysfunctional marriage nightmare. But, yeah, you've nailed the situation with peculiar accuracy. His wife is not Mom but Supermom, and everything -- everything! -- revolves around demonstrating her superpowers. Which, oddly enough, seem centered on the ability to let the kids dictate all family activities, including dinner with company. He's a well-paid lawyer but she's a pennypincher and a water nazi (don't you dare run the tap to get colder water, that's wasteful!).

But bringing it back to the show, tell me, parents... Does this show appeal -- beyond trainwreckery -- because it offers real, implementable techniques, or because it makes almost any parent feel like far less a failure than those pictured onscreen?

PS: What's wrong with Mean Voice? I got that when I misbehaved and I turned out perfect!