When the Supernanny is asking mom “when will she decide to parent” or telling her “you’re lazy” or saying that the parents cannot parent without Jo Frost there, that is undermining the parents ability to strengthen their own family.

If this message is not BAD enough, the show took an UGLY turn this week!

The family game to see if the parents knew enough about their kids ended up humiliating the parents in front of their own children. 

If this wasn’t bad enough the Supernanny degraded the mom by pulling her physically away from her 2 year who was having a tantrum.  This mom’s instincts were right on, as she knew her child needed her.

The Supernanny told her in no uncertain terms to ignore her drive to soothe her child who had uncharacteristically lost control.  She even went on to say the 2 year old knew exactly what she was doing! That’s crazy; two year olds have great IQ’s but don’t have a calculating bone in their bodies.

Some things never change at least it seems that way with the Supernanny. 

Another week includes her emphasizing that somehow if you put a child in a particular ‘SPOT’ that will change their behavior.

 She directs Dad to talk to his child ‘during’ the time-out, which defeats the purpose. 
“Way to Go, Dad” for the heartfelt hug you gave to your child after time-out.  That’s what I call good parenting! 

Supernanny does bring some good to the show…this week
- Telling parents to take out the remote controls as TV and video keeps kids quiet,
   but also keeps them from learning and being involved in life.
- The idea of inviting mom to ‘talk’ to her daughter positively and doing something fun
   and connecting physically with her was awesome.
- Asking the family to ‘talk’ during dinner and understanding that kids learn best 
   through play by getting the family to play together.

Being in prime time brings with it tremendous responsibility.
Especially when it comes to taking care of children.  Parents need to know they are not BAD, but need to be supported so they feel safe and confident.

Where’s the prime time responsibility when parents are portrayed as incompetent, their instincts are not respected and they are made to believe they cannot parent unless the Supernanny is pointing a finger in their face? 

Let’s keep sorting out the Supernanny. I invite you all to leave your comments!
Talk to you next week,  Dr. Ann Corwin