The Goldberg Family

The Goldberg Family is the eighteenth episode of Season 5 of the American Supernanny show.

Episode summary[]

Jo visits the Goldberg family in Tucson, Arizona where Goldbergs Adam (42) and Shelby (37) have three kids: 6-year-old twin boys, Joshua & Jacob, & 3 ½-year-old daughter Jayden.

The twins constantly disrespect and disobey their parents and they rough play. Shelby has even resorted to calling imaginary police officers as a threat to get the boys to behave. Joshua thinks everything is a joke while Jacob is prone to violent outbursts. Meanwhile Jayden is beginning to mimic the aggressive behavior displayed by both of her big brothers. Shelby & Adam are constantly frustrated with the children, with Adam yelling "Stop!" around a hundred times per day.

Can Jo help Shelby & Adam discipline their kids & help Adam learn how to tame his temper?

Episode recap[]

Submission reel[]

Adam and Shelby have three children: Twin sons named Joshua & Jacob & a daughter named Jayden. Adam is a captain paramedic at a local fire department & he works 24-hour shifts. Shelby is a dietitian & diabetes educator who says she knows what it feels like to be a single parent as a result. Joshua laughs everything off, while Jacob has a nasty temper that flares, like Adam's. Jayden is starting to pick up her brothers’ especially Jacob’s & her Father Adam’s temper. The misbehavior isn't limited to home, it's everywhere, including dinners out.

Shelby doesn't get respect from the kids, especially the boys & doesn't know what to do to manage their behavior. Adam is tired of yelling & saying "Stop!" a hundred times in a day to the kids. They're at the end of their rope as nothing they do seems to change the kids' behavior.

Observation[]

Jo observes that during snack time, the boys just eat out of a popcorn bowl like animals. Then, she notices that Adam has a short fuse. He yells often, feels guilty about it, then cries. The boys know exactly how to push his buttons. Meanwhile, Shelby has resorted to calling imaginary cops to get her twin boys to behave.

Parent meeting[]

Jo asks Adam and Shelby what they will do about Officers Smith and Jones when the kids get older and want to see them.

Teaching[]

Goldberg-House-Rules — Shelby introduces the House Rules

Shelby introduces the new House Rules to demonstrate her authority. They are:

Be kind with your words
Do not hurt others
Do as you are told, 100%
Use good manners
Be nice to others
Share nicely

Then Jo introduced discipline for when House Rules are broken. She said, "Let's face it. Policeman Jones and Policeman Smith need to face retirement." She gives the parents police badges to reinforce that the parents have the authority, not imaginary officers and "Say goodbye to Officers Smith and Jones for good!"

Shelby gets to exercise her authority when Jacob takes a lollipop without permission. She drags him to timeout. Jo reports, "She needs to get active to show these kids she's not messing around!" She gives Shelby a firm talking-to. "Backbone!" Jo insists. "Find it, OK? Woman to woman, find it, OK? If you don't, that kid is going to walk all over you, like he's been doing it for years!"

Energized by Jo's reprimands, Shelby yelled at Jacob to sit on the cube, keep his shirt on, and stop kicking. Jacob stays in time out for the full six minutes.

Now that discipline at home is working, Jo takes it on the road. She shows a chart that lists when it's OK to be goofy and silly ("Kids at play") and when it's not. Adam and Shelby are shocked to find that the kids know when goofiness is OK and when it's not. To test this knowledge, Jo has the parents take the kids to the library. Adam and Shelby are scared to try this as the library is the quietest place in the world. But everything turns out fine at the library, and the kids behave fine. Shelby calls it "the loveliest time I've ever had with the kids in a public place." Adam reports, "It was a great trip."

Supernanny Tip: What should you do with a picky eater? The answer is C: Encourage a few bites.

Jo coaches Adam on what to do to be prepared when kids get out of control. This includes counting to 10 when you're losing it, and when you feel out of control, make a choice to get over it and use self-discipline. Jo asks Shelby to help Adam get control of his short fuse. Adam acknowledges that he reacts too quickly and then feels horrible and doesn't want to be in that position. Adam feels peace of mind knowing he has a process in place if he starts feeling like he's losing control.

When Jayden refuses to eat her last few bites before playing with her game again. Adam gives her a warning. She loses it and throws an absolute fit. Jo talks Dad through taking Jayden to timeout without shouting. Jayden repeatedly left timeout. but Adam placed her back each time. Jo reports that this was "emotionally challenging for Dad." Adam counts to 10. which helps but Jayden doesn’t give up and admitted that she hated this timeout, which made Adam emotional. Jo reminds him that Jayden is being defiant and to ignore her. He chills down and finishes timeout. Jayden gave in and sat in timeout. When her time was up, dad told Jayden not to sit anywhere else besides the cube when she's in timeout. He allows Jayden to cry as she apologizes to him. Adam reports that they both learned that "Behaviors needed to be fixed. We do it lovingly and it was a good thing for both of us."

Jo reports that now that teaching is over. she needs to leave them alone. Teaching has gone well. they know what to do. She asks the parents to support each other and really change their ways. Shelby is scared she can't do it. Jo wonders if Shelby will step up. and will Adam keep his temper.

DVD meeting[]

Shelby is apprehensive about the meeting. She knows they did well in some things and failed in others. Jo asks Adam how he's been doing. He feels he's been doing well. They review footage.

Adam asks Joshua to sit in his car seat. He refuses. Adam tries counting to 10. He still loses it. Shelby tries warning Adam, but he won't stand for a child calling him names. "He's never behaved like this before, ever!" Adam says. He walks away and asks that Joshua just go to his room, so he doesn't lose it. Jo points out that this is a control issue, for both Adam and Joshua. When Joshua pushes those buttons, Adam goes back to his old ways. He needs to work on that.

Shelby attempts timeout with Jacob. Jacob freaks out and yells "Idiot!" at Shelby. But stayed there. Jo congratulates Shelby on not losing it.

Minutes later, Adam lectures Jacob harshly about why timeout happened. Jo says Adam is too long-winded and it's too much for a 6-year-old. Jo also tells Adam that when he stepped in to lecture Jacob, he undermined Shelby and her authority with the children in timeout.

The family is at a food court in the mall. Joshua acts out and Shelby drags him to timeout. When he still acts out, Shelby says he will have timeout at home. They go home and Joshua was sent to the naughty cube, and he apologizes. Jo praises Shelby for her tone of voice but is concerned that Shelby was still focusing more on her family’s image in public than on Joshua’s need to eat his dinner.

Reinforcement[]

Jo reinforces and goes undercover at the mall where Shelby and the kids are going out on an errand. As Shelby expects the kids to behave and help out, Jayden then runs off and starts crying. Jo coaches Shelby to choose her battles, as Jayden's outburst is not in need for a timeout. It's more about Mom going in to get what she needs and then going home. Shelby and the kids go into the party store to get plates and silverware. One of the twins asks for a snack, but Shelby reminds them that they will eat when they get home. Soon, Jayden throws another fit, but Shelby remembers the tip from before. Jayden eventually settles down and everyone leaves the mall. At home Jo's work here is done and leave the Goldberg Family and on her way to the next family.

Family Members[]

Person	Age	Age (2025)	Relation to Family
Adam Goldberg	42 (born March 28, 1966)	59	Father
Shelby Goldberg	37 (born September 14, 1971)	54	Mother
Joshua & Jacob	6 (born May 28, 2002)	23	Twin Sons
Jayden	3 ½ (born June 12, 2005)	20	Daughter

The children were disciplined via one Jo Frost's techniques.

Trivia[]

Despite Jayden having a pacifier at age 3 ½ (which is too old for one), Jo was not shown implementing the Bye Bye Binky Technique.
Coincidentally, The Sacco Family, which aired after this episode, also featured a girl who was too old for a pacifier, which was Lily.
This was the first episode to take place in Arizona.

Behind the Scenes[]

This episode was Filmed in January 2009.

Pop Culture[]

While the family went to the mall for lunch, they ate food from Arby’s. But in the background, the logo is noticeably blurred due to copyright complaints.
In the Submission Reel, the children were seen playing with Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway toys. There were three Alfys, Thomas, Rusty, Henry and Gordon.
In the Reinforcement, behind Jo in the background, the end credits for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire can be seen playing on the TV in the mall.
The mall scenes were filmed at Foothills Mall.