Episodes

Programme 2

This week Supernanny heads to Hertfordshire where single mum Tara Howat is being driven to despair by her aggressive, four year old son who swears like a trooper and humiliates her in public.

Rhys and his seven year old stroppy sister Shannon are locked in combat with mum whilst eight year old good girl Casey gets overlooked in the chaos.

From the minute the family wake up till bed-time, the family are battling to be the boss. Rhys won’t walk to school properly and runs off in public. Shannon swears, throws tantrums and hits her mother.

Mother Tara’s behaviour is not much better – she spends the entire day shouting at her unruly bunch – although only good girl Casey listens to her.

When calm but firm Jo Jo turns up her aim is to put a stop to the aggressive, dangerous and downright disrespectful behaviour of the Howat family. And that means Tara needs to put a lid on her temper.

Supernanny’s techniques

Happy Feet Map

Jo devises a fantastic technique which she calls the Happy Feet Map to ensure that Rhys walks along the road, without running off.

The map illustrates local landmarks on the route home from school – each time Rhys spots a landmark he’ll be rewarded with a special happy feet sticker to put on his map. The technique engages Rhys’s attention and stops him wanting to run off.

Naughty Corner

Just like the Naughty Step – but in this house, it’s the naughty corner. Rhys and Shannon are sent there whenever they hit, swear or kick their mum or need to be disciplined.

Stay in Bed technique.

Bedtimes have been causing Tara nightmares. Jo Frost’s technique here is to create a calm atmosphere and use the Stay in Bed technique. This means calmly placing the child back into bed when they get out. For Tara the key to the stay in bed technique is remaining calm and consistent – however many times Rhys gets out of bed.

Jo instructs Tara to reduce her attention to Rhys each time he gets out of bed. So for the first time, he is given a kiss goodnight and told it’s bedtime. The second time, take him back to bed and say ‘bedtime’.

After that, Tara is told to just put Rhys back to bed without talking to him – however many times it takes.

Communication

Tara needs to learn how her children perceive her. Using a hand mirror, Mum is shown the difference in her facial expressions when communicating with the children.

The children need to see her facial expressions and hear from her tone of voice when Mum is not pleased and when she is. Tara is encouraged to exaggerate her expressions more for the children.

Positive Praise

Mum learns to praise Rhys when he does something well, with a happy face, high tone of voice and a smile. Rhys responds really well.

Heart to Heart

Tara and Shannon only communicate by shouting. Jo gets them to sit together and starts a conversation which Shannon and Tara must continue, so that they tell each other how they feel. Regular Heart to Heart time is built into the family’s routine.

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