Supernanny

This article is about the TV show. For the Drawn Together episode, see Super Nanny (Drawn Together episode).
Supernanny
Starring Jo Frost
Narrated by
Opening theme "Be Good Johnny" by Men at Work (USA version only)
Country of origin United Kingdom
United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 7 (UK) / 7 (USA)
No. of episodes 43 (UK) / 108 (USA) (list of episodes)
Production
Producer(s)
Running time 42 minutes
Release
Original network
Picture format 1080i (HDTV) 2010-12
Original release 7 July 2004 (2004-07-07) – 7 September 2012 (2012-09-07)
Chronology
Related shows Jo Frost: Family Matters
Jo Frost: Nanny On Tour
World's Strictest Parents
External links
Official website (UK)
Official website (USA)

Supernanny is a reality TV programme which originated in the United Kingdom, about parents struggling with their children's behaviour, mealtime, potty training, etc. The United Kingdom version has aired on Channel 4 with E4 showing repeats since 2004. The program returned to Channel 4 after a two-year break in 2010, with E4 also showing more repeats. The show features professional nanny Jo Frost, who devotes each episode to helping a family where the parents are struggling with their child-rearing. Through instruction and observation, she shows the parents alternative ways to discipline their children and regain order in their households. Frost is a proponent of the "naughty chair" theory of discipline and is strictly opposed to spanking. Its competing series was Nanny 911.

In the United States, it aired on ABC and Style Network and currently airs on Up TV. The series ended in the US on 18 March 2011, due to low ratings, and ended on 7 September 2012 in the United Kingdom. A spin-off of the show was produced and is titled America's Supernanny.

History

Supernanny starring Jo Frost was originally broadcast in the UK on Channel 4 on 7 July 2004, following the success of Channel 4's Cutting Edge programme "Bad Behaviour". Supernanny is one of Channel 4's most popular shows, reaching nearly 5 million viewers in the first series, with consistently high ratings throughout the series. Supernanny USA is also shown on Channel 4 (and its sister channel E4) with respectable viewing figures.

The premiere episode for the third series attracted 3.1 million viewers with a 14% audience share. These values are half of those from the previous two series.[1] Series 2 (UK) episodes 5 to 12 and Supernanny USA etc. is narrated by Nick Frost (no relation to Jo Frost). The theme song is "Be Good Johnny" by Men at Work (though the show's version is Colin Hay's version that appears on the album Man @ Work, and beginning with US Season 6, the song was discontinued. The fourth series of Supernanny began on 29 August 2007 at 8pm with "Beyond The Naughty Step" following straight afterwards on E4. The fifth run, broadcast over a year later on Channel 4, began on 24 September 2008. The sixth and seventh run of Supernanny in the UK begins starting from 9 February 2010 as Jo Frost: Extreme Parental Guidance. The eighth and final episode of the seventh series was postponed to 7 September 2012 and it aired on E4 instead of Channel 4. Supernanny UK Series 6 was narrated by Bob Marsden and Series 7 brought back Anthony Green as narrator after a break of 7 years.

Season 6 was supposed to be the last season of the USA version, as stated in the May 2010 newsletter on jofrost.com; but ABC brought it back for a seventh season. Jo Frost later confirmed that will be the last season.[2] The final episode aired on 18 March 2011.

Lifetime developed a spin-off of the series, licensing the concept from program producer Shed Media. Titled America's Supernanny, the series is "the first true U.S. version of the hit global format that will feature Deborah Tillman".[3]

The Hawthorne Effect

At Hawthorne Works in Cicero, Illinois, Elton Mayo and other researchers from Harvard University attempted to observe the relationship between a worker’s productivity and the environment which they are working in. They concluded that improved factory lighting increased the productivity of workers. However, when the study came to an end and worker’s productivity began to decrease with it, Henry A. Landsberger concluded that it was not the lighting change that improved worker activity but the motivational result of someone showing interest in them. Thus the term “the Hawthorne effect” was born and was officially defined as the theory that underlines the change in behaviour of participants in a study as a result of being observed.[4] The Hawthorne effect is often used to explain a limitation of controlled observation research methods.[5] The show Supernanny can be described as a controlled observation because Jo Frost enters into a household as a complete stranger to a family, and attempts to observe and then enforce a behavioural change upon both the parents and the children. This may initiate changes but leaves ambiguity and uncertainty as to why. There are two possible explanations: Jo Frost’s child-rearing methods are as impressive and effective as they are portrayed on the show to be, or the Hawthorne effect plays a big role in what viewers see as behavioural change.

The child-rearing methods of Supernanny are described as being consistent and non-aggressive, but most importantly as recognizing not only bad behaviour but good behaviour as well, and thus giving rewards like play time and punishments like time-outs as they see fit. She emphasizes incentives to promote good behaviour and deterrents to discourage bad behaviour.[6] While the results appear to be promising, it is unclear whether Jo’s approaches stick long term. Although some episodes show the family days or weeks later to show how well her techniques have worked, the family is still in the presence of cameras and know they are being watched by Jo. It is difficult to prove its validity and distinguish true behavioural change from the Hawthorne effect. This is the case not only for the children, who may act differently in front of the camera and/or present themselves as more well behaved for Jo, but it is also true for the parents. It is entirely possible that they hide or accentuate different parenting techniques in front of Jo and the cameras, the reality behind the scenes appearing much different. While it is possible that the Jo’s techniques really do influence behavioural change in the families, overcoming the Hawthorne effect is a necessity in terms of proving Supernanny’s validity. In order for Supernanny to do this, observations need to be more long term and more discrete.[7] These techniques are difficult to administer in a reality TV show - making the Hawthorne effect seem inevitable - however it sparks some curiosity, and is worthy of future discussion. It makes viewers wonder not only if Jo spent an extended amount of longterm time with the families, making her no longer a stranger, and removed all cameramen and their equipment, would the children begin to behave as they did before Jo arrived, but also if the parents would revert back to their old parenting techniques. Although it would be difficult to measure, it would certainly remove some ambiguity in terms of the shows legitimate long-term effects. It is important to correlate such an abstract term to behavioural traits of children. Psychologist Dr. Heather Wittenberg explains that children are more likely to act like their true selves for their parents. After “being good” at school all day or with a nanny all day, they can finally let loose and be themselves around their parents.[8] So in this case, it is entirely possible that the children hold in their rambunctious behaviour while in the presence of Jo, or knowing Jo is watching, and then when the cameras are off the children they finally revert to their old behaviour. The older children are also aware that not only is Jo watching, but millions of viewers across at least 47 countries worldwide.[9] Dr. Heather Wittenberg further explains that getting into a routine helps children significantly - a technique that Jo Frost tries to incorporate in almost every almost every household she visits. It seems to bring benefits.[8] But again, the resources are limited to prove that Jo’s incorporation of routine actually sparked change. It is virtually impossible to prove that this approach will stick longterm. As a result, people are left with the option of trusting Supernanny’s portrayed successful methodology, or deeming its effectiveness a result of the Hawthorne effect

Format

The USA shows begin with a short introductory clip of highlights from the episode; after the title segment, Frost is featured riding in a London TXII with the vanity plate "SPRNANNY", where she shows a DVD player with the family's submission video. The submission video introduces the parent(s), children, with their ages, and in some cases other important family members, as well as the parents' occupations (including if one parent stays at home with the children) and the specific issues the family is facing, concluded by a final call for help alongside a reassuring statement from Frost telling the family she's 'on her way!'

Frost spends the first day in observation mode, taking mental notes to assess the situation and to devise a plan of action. If a situation is especially serious, she will point out the matter for immediate action. After the first day, she holds the parents' meeting (with clips showing the parents initial reaction), where she praises the family for their beautiful children and then mentions the problems noted. (Earlier episodes had the meeting at the end of the first day; later episodes have it the following day.)

Frost then returns with tools designed to assist the parents in child-rearing. For example, if she determines that the children are misbehaving due to a lack of scheduled activity time with the parents, she will bring in a set schedule (customized for the family's needs). She also will frequently devise "house rules" for the family (sometimes the rules are predetermined by Frost, other times she provides a blank paper and has the family devise them). Frequent issues on the show involve discipline (as Frost does not endorse spanking as a means, she introduces the family to the "naughty chair/step" timeout) and sleep separation.

After a time, Frost will leave the house to allow the family to implement her actions on their own. The parents' actions are still being filmed, and upon her return Frost will call another parents meeting to praise them for doing well and/or show them where they went wrong. She will then provide reinforcement as needed.

The ending shows the family saying goodbye to Frost; later episodes feature the family at a later time showing how well her techniques have worked, along with (after the credits, often featuring a blooper segment) a teaser segment for the next week's episode.

Frost has called in outside assistance on more than one occasion:

DVD releases

A DVD Release of Supernanny entitled When Little Kids Cause Big Headaches was released in the UK on 12 April 2010.[10]

A DVD Release Of Supernanny USA was Released On Region 1 in The USA on 16 May 2006.[11]

Episodes

UK series overview
SeriesEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
137 July 2004 (2004-07-07)21 July 2004 (2004-07-21)
2124 May 2005 (2005-05-04)5 October 2005 (2005-10-05)
3629 August 2006 (2006-08-29)3 October 2006 (2006-10-03)
4529 August 2007 (2007-08-29)26 September 2007 (2007-09-26)
5324 September 2008 (2008-09-24)8 October 2008 (2008-10-08)
669 February 2010 (2010-02-09)16 March 2010 (2010-03-16)
787 June 2011 (2011-06-07)7 September 2012 (2012-09-07)
U.S. series overview
SeriesEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
11017 January 2005 (2005-01-17)2 May 2005 (2005-05-02)
21723 September 2005 (2005-09-23)18 September 2006 (2006-09-18)
3154 December 2006 (2006-12-04)6 June 2007 (2007-06-06)
4202 January 2008 (2008-01-02)25 June 2008 (2008-06-25)
5183 October 2008 (2008-10-03)1 May 2009 (2009-05-01)
61323 October 2009 (2009-10-23)12 March 2010 (2010-03-12)
7155 November 2010 (2010-11-05)18 March 2011 (2011-03-18)

International versions

Supernanny has been broadcast or slightly adapted in other countries.

Country Title Network Other networks
 Australia Supernanny GEM
Nine Network
 Belgium Supernanny vtm
 Brazil Supernanny SBT
 Czech Republic Superchůva k pohledání Adult Swim
 China 超级保姆 CCTV
 France Super Nanny
Les Nannies
M6
NT1
TF1
 Germany Die Super Nanny (2004-2011)
Mission Familie (since 2014)
RTL Television
Sat.1
 Indonesia Supernanny MetroTV
 Israel Supernanny Channel 2
 Italy S.O.S. Tata La7
 Lithuania Super Auklė TV1
 Malaysia Supernanny NTV7
 Netherlands Eerste Hulp Bij Opvoeden RTL 4
 Poland Supernanny TVN
TVN Style
 Romania Supernanny Prima TV
 Russia Суперняня Ren-TV
 Singapore Supernanny MediaCorp Okto
 Spain Supernanny
S.O.S. Adolescentes
Cuatro TV Catalonia TV3
Basque Country (autonomous community) ETB 1
 United Kingdom
Original series
Supernanny Channel 4
E4
Republic of Ireland RTÉ One
 United States Supernanny ABC
Esquire Network
Up TV
United Kingdom Channel 4, E4
Canada W Network, Twist TV

Other countries

Rocio Ramos in the Spanish series

In other media

See also

References

  1. Deans, Jason (30 August 2006). "'Mrs O' sees off Richard and Judy". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
  2. "Supernanny: Jo Frost Calling It Quits After Seven Seasons". tvseriesfinale.com. 7 November 2010. Retrieved 7 November 2010.
  3. Andreeva, Nellie (11 August 2011). "Lifetime Orders New U.S. Version Of 'Supernanny'". deadline.com. Retrieved 11 August 2011.
  4. The Hawthorne effect. (2008, November 03). Retrieved November 08, 2016, from http://www.economist.com/node/12510632
  5. McLeod, S. (2015). Observation Methods. Retrieved November 08, 2016, from http://www.simplypsychology.org/observation.html
  6. Gilbert, S. (2005, August 02). Those Televised Supernannies May Be Just a Bit Too Super. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  7. Gaskell, A. (2012, March 07). How to overcome the Hawthorne Effect. Retrieved November 08, 2016, from http://www.peterborner.com/2012/03/07/how-to-overcome-the-hawthorne-effect/
  8. 1 2 Fiedler, C. M. (2012, July 12). Why Kids Behave Badly with Their Parents « TheMotherCompany. Retrieved November 08, 2016, from http://www.themotherco.com/2012/07/why-kids-behave-badly-with-their-parents/
  9. Associated Press. (2006, April 11). ’Supernanny’ ready with advice, even at airport. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  10. "Supernanny [DVD]". amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
  11. "Supernanny DVD 2006 Region 1 US Import NTSC". amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
  12. "Super Nanny est décédée". 20min.ch (in French). 20 January 2010. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
  13. http://fr.news.yahoo.com/nannies-pourquoi-t%C3%A9l%C3%A9-ressuscite-l%C3%A9ducation-%C3%A0-lancienne-051739665.html
  14. "Drawn Together: Super Nanny Recap". TV.com. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
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