No Parents I know would put up with these little Brats B.S. If I had raised a hand to My Mother there would NOT be any sitting for a 'time-out' I would not have been able to sit the rest of the day! Spitting on your sibling, throwing items at guests, using language that would make a Sailor blush?! Spanking? Some of these little Bastards need a Flogging.
share I suppose a "time out" is okay for minor misbehavior. But hitting your mother? I valued my teeth too much for that. I would've been picking them up off the floor. And I threw crayons ONCE when I was five. Got one of the very few spankings I ever received. It worked.
These parents seem to be afraid of their children. Some of these silly mothers cry when Jo insists that they discipline their children. They are so worried about upsetting their little darlings. Our mom never cared if we were upset or not! Ha! She cared that we were raised right. Her attitude could be summed up in the age old parenting attitudes of ,"Tough" and "Because I said so".
I really think it's a lot of the parents who need the flogging! Children don't know how to raise themselves or set their own boundaries. Most of the adults on this show should not be allowed to own a CAT , let alone have children!
It was amusing to see this in the Trending Bar as I've seen quite a few episodes of this myself (just funny seeing her face among the other film titles).
And I'm going to actually attempt to defend the Supernanny's methods here. I think in the long term, her form of corrective "counseling", appropriately applied, does give benefits that spanking doesn't accomplish. I know many say they were spanked and "turned out okay" and I do believe that, but the incarceration statistics show an overwhelming majority of them were also spanked. There's obviously other factors at play here, but the argument from the other side is that spanking could potentially create more hostility, poorer self-esteem and lifelong resentment of authority in the child - the exact opposite of what parents wanted to accomplish.
I believe the distinction here are those who were spanked *sparingly*, but still knew their parents loved them - those children usually turn out okay. But those spanked often, by a parent shouting obscenities and calling for the heavens to come shattering down - those kids did not fare well during their transition to adulthood. They felt beneath their peers (something is "wrong" with them and they don't deserve love/respect/basic needs), did not feel genuine love from parents (they hit me which means I am worthless to them), and either fear or despise authority. This manifests into either extreme introversion or lashing out.
There's another Animal Planet show called "My Cat From Hell" where an expert comes in and, almost miraculously, does indeed change the behavior of some of the most problematic, hellish, devilish cats ever seen. The ones that snarl and bite/scratch ANYONE that approaches, suddenly becomes docile and trusting of humans and strangers.
The man did not accomplish it by smacking the cat across the face for hissing or scratching his hands (one wouldn't think to ever do that to a cat or dog pet). He goes into depth about cat psychology/biology (what a strange sentence to type but that's what he does). I am not saying a child and a cat/dog are the same, but they have the same basic needs (need a balance of both closeness, stimulation but also quiet and privacy), and misbehavior can be corrected by attempting to identify what needs are not being met, and altering the environment.
Spanking is the quick way to resolve a conflict or correct a behavior, but even then, it doesn't always work, and could be more psychologically damaging in the long run. Supernanny seems to be going for a methodical, patient, nurturing way of changing mindsets. I know it may sound flowery to some, but if a man can change the most vicious cats in the world into sweet things, and do it through patience and thinking about what the cat really needs, then I would hope parents would put more extra time and thought into how they try to change their childrens behavior as well. It can be done and has been done.
Oh I am mostly in agreement with you about Supernanny's methods. Her methods might seem slow. But in most cases I think she is trying to correct problems which took a long time to develop and they can't be corrected overnight.
Once again, I think a lot of it IS the fault of the parents. It's true some kids are easier to raise. Some are natuarally more demanding or whiny. My mom always regarded one of my sisters as her "difficult" child. My sister readily admits it. But nothing to the extent of the behavior on the show!
My mom did what Supernanny tries to teach the parents, namely, how to set rules and boundaries. And she also never gave in to whining and tantrums. Not that we ever did that, but when my sister would get close to that behavior, usually a stern "Knock it off!" did the trick. We all knew the consequences if we "acted up" as my mom called it. And believe me, we did NOT want to try and call her bluff.
Instead of raising their kids, these weak willed people allow the kids to run the household. The children have their parents trained to give in to their whining and nagging. They seem to know if they keep it up long and loud enough, mom and dad give in to keep the peace But peace at what price?? lol
There was one mom I wanted to scream at myself. Her little four year old "refused" to go to bed. She would stay up at night on the couch until he "decided" when to go to bed. He'd play, change the TV channels, and run around. The mom would fall asleep exhausted until he'd wake her around 1:00 A.M. to go sleep in her bed. That woman had rocks in her head. To be led around by the nose by a four year old?
I think some of the bad behavior comes from parents who are working long hours and have no time for their children. I get the impression that some of these very young couples have bought into the American dream and have simply bought TOO much stuff! Some may be upper middle class, but some of these couples seem awfully young to be doing that well financially. They have big new houses which seem to be furnished with all new furniture, wide screen TVs, computers, at least two new vehicles, tons of toys, swimming pools.
It seems as though they are working a lot to pay for this stuff and their children are neglected. Sure the kids have tons of STUFF, but no parenting! A child isn't like a dog which you can put out in the yard with a new chew toy! lol
You mentioned Jackson Galaxy who helps people with their 'cats from hell." I think I've had a few of those cats myself. He does a great job and I think it's partly because he knows and understands the creatures he is dealing with. Some of these clueless parents don't. It's unfortunate.
These moms and dads allow the tantrums, screaming and bad behavior to get out of hand until THEY reach the boiling point. Then the parents scream back and think the kids will listen.
Anyway, I do think Jo Frost's methods are good ones. She's trying to undo a lot of p#ss poor parenting. However, occasionally I feel bad for parents who does seem to have a genuine brat on their hands! Some kids, just like adults, have lousy personalities.
Agreed on many of those points. And much of the blame does go to the parents, because they are the ones who ultimately shape their children's minds and behavior.
Great point too about some parents being very busy and overwhelmed, which we do see on the show. I do believe many of these parents really tried the "nurturing" method at first, but didn't see the results they wanted, and gave up. But, like a steady regime of diet & exercise, do we blame all[/i] diets & exercise routines in the world if the person fails to lose weight? Or can we open our minds more, self-educate, acquaint ourselves to new facts and ideas, and incorporate it into our current methods/programs to improve? For sure! Enter the Supernanny. I know this is TV, but people like her can have a fresh perspective that helps families who aren't aware of these other corrective methods (and I think her ways have more valuable long-term benefits).
Like you said, that Jackson Galaxy (what an awesome name btw) doesn't go for the easy and common disciplinary solutions for these cats. They obviously don't work, as we've seen. No, he attempts to dive deeper into that mean cat's built-in biology/cognition. It's a small animal, but it still has a brain, instincts, DNA and patterns of behavior found in nearly [i]all cats. His methods are more fine-tuned, delicate, thoughtful - even smarter - and much better than brute-forcing your way into the mean cat's heart (which will never happen...that clawed cat has other plans!). People like Jackson Galaxy and Supernanny believe in the quieter malleability of behavior, not the quick backhand or shout to the face. Jackson and Supernanny are national treasures of naughtiness negation. 😺👦👧