Episodes

Programme 1

Kerry Hillhouse and Steven Docherty from Ayr, in Scotland are at their wit’s end with the behaviour of their three children Ryan, nine and three year old twins David and Declan.

Nine year old son Ryan, trashes his room and tells his mum he wishes she were dead.

His three year old twin brothers David & Declan swear like troopers and think nothing of hitting out at Mum and Dad.

Kerry feels totally walked over by Ryan and she feels she has no control over his destructive behaviour.

Both Kerry and Steven end up shouting constantly at the children and face endless tantrums, sibling fighting and disrespect in return. It’s no fun in their house.

Supernanny Jo steps in with a firm message – it’s time to get this family in order.

She suggests seven Supernanny techniques. This is how she gets the family working together again.

Supernanny’s techniques

Routine
In this house the family do very little but watch television all day. Jo suggests a household routine is drawn up with input from Ryan and his brothers.

The emphasis is on free time – these periods of the day are laminated on the routine, allowing Mum and Dad to write in whatever the children have agreed they’d like to do with their free time. This gives the children something to look forward to and a sense of involvement in their own day.

Superkids’ Superchart
Jo suggests a superheroes-themed reward chart for the twins. Each boy is turned into a super hero and flies up a cloud with every achievement. On the way there are stars: small incentives to keep the boys encouraged.

Ryan’s Privileges Chart
Jo devises a chart illustrating all of Ryan’s privileges. These are things that Ryan likes or wants such as playing with the Xbox, playing with friends or wearing football tops. If Ryan breaks any of the rules on his privileges chart – such as swearing, spitting, hitting - he has one of his privileges taken away. If he does well all day he gets rewarded with a gold star. Five gold stars get him a reward.

Ryan’s Calm Zone
A small room is set aside for Ryan to go to of his own volition when he’s feeling his anger rise – or he can be sent there by his parents when they feel the need. Inside is a bean bag he can relax on. When he’s feeling calmer, he can come out – he decides the length of time he spends in the calm zone each time.

The Naughty Step
At three and a half the twins are the perfect age for Supernanny’s Naughty Step. Jo teaches the parents to give the twins warnings when they misbehave and if they continue with their bad behaviour, ask them to sit on the naughty step.

Communication
The only communicating this family do are screaming at each other and criticising each other.

Jo teaches Mum and Dad how to positively change the things they say. For example, ‘don’t do that’ gets replaced by ‘it’s better if you…’ They are taught how to praise their children and how intimidating their body language is by sitting on the floor and looking up at each other from the children’s point of view.

Jo also suggests painting with Mum. It’s a way for Ryan to flex his artistic side and get rid of some of his aggression. And it encourages mum to let go of her inhibitions and do something she’d never normally do. They paint portraits of each other and find it’s a real bonding experience.

Cohesion
This family do not do anything together. Kerry and Stephen say they ‘daren’t take the children anywhere’ but of course, that perpetuates the feeling of disconnection within the family. They have no fun together.

Jo’s solution is to set the whole family a challenge to promote teamwork and harmony. The children work as a team with mum and dad offering praise and enthusiasm. The children win a box of goodies for them to enjoy for the rest of the day with a picnic and some games.

For more parenting tips, read our fascinating extracts from C4’ s Little Darlings booklet.

Please note: the Little Darlings advice was not written or endorsed by Jo Frost.