Opening
Announcer: Is this familiar? "Children don't come with instructions." But now sanity is speeding your way. She's Supernanny, armed with over 15 years of experience. She's cared for countless kids.
Jo (to Andra): Will you shake my hand and say Hello?
Announcer: Cured thousands of tantrums, saved hundreds of families, and she's putting a moratorium on mayhem! Each week, a new family screams for help, and Supernanny answers the call. No problem is too big. No child is too difficult. She's Jo Frost: Supernanny!
Jo (in nanny mode, wagging her finger at camera): You've been very, very naughty!
Announcer: Tonight on Supernanny, Jo meets the Jeans Family and takes on their devilish daughter and twin terrors. She has two weeks to turn things around....
Jo (to Andra): That behavior will make you go and sit on that Naughty Stool.
Announcer: ...And restore power back to the parents.
Andra (hugging Barbara): Sorry. (Opening credits play)
Submission reel
Jo: Well, let's take a look and see what family I have this week. (Plays DVD.)
David: Hi, we're the Jeans Family. I'm David.
Barbara: And I'm Barbara. I met Dave through a friend. I was set up with another guy and...
David: Fortunately the other guy got sick so I saw an opportunity. (Jo shoots a coy look at the camera.)
Barbara: We've been together for about twenty years. We were really late bloomers. We waited a long time before we had kids. And since we've had kids...
David: Traumatic. (Parents laugh.)
Barbara: Everything has changed! (Footage of screaming children)
David (during the footage): Home, sweet home!
Barbara: We have three daughters: Andra, who is 4 1/2.
Andra (pouting and holding up a chicken nugget): See? That much! (Drops the nugget on her plate in disgust)
Barbara: And twins Jessie and Leah, who have just turned 3. Andra tends to set the tone in our house quite a bit. Because she's so strong and she's so dominant.
Andra (struggling against Barbara as they go downstairs): We're not having chocolate milk!
Andra (at her sisters during playtime): No! Don't! It's my turn!
Barbara: Andra is very intense. She can be aggressive. (Andra tackles one of her younger sisters.)
Andra (chasing Leah into the kitchen): Leah! (Andra grabs Leah around the neck and pulls her to the floor. We hear Barbara shout, "Andy!" offscreen.)
Barbara: She hits her sisters a lot. (Footage of Andra slapping Jessie on the head, and swinging a pillow at her sisters) Now that is scary.
Jo: Now that behavior from Andra has got to stop.
Barbara: Jessie is one of our twins, she's three.
David: If Andy does something, then Jessie does the same thing. (Footage of Jessie hitting and pushing Barbara in the kitchen, and Barbara scolding her)
Barbara: Jessie! (Footage of Jessie hitting Leah with a sippy cup, and hitting Leah with an empty egg carton)
Barbara: Jessie! (Jo looks sideways at the camera, shakes her head, and sighs.)
Barbara: Leah's three. Our other twin. She definitely cries a lot. (Footage of Leah crying with family, in bed, etc.)
Jo (plugging one of her ears): I'm gonna need earplugs in this household!
David: I have a full time job, I usually have to travel at least once a month for at least four to five nights. (Footage of Barbara and David in the garage. She hands him a travel mug and kisses him goodbye.)
Andra (crying in carseat): I want Daddy.
Jessie: Daddy! Daddy! (runs up to David)
Barbara: I am most often the one that is home by myself with the kids. It's a pretty long and pretty exhausting day. (Footage of Barbara wiping her brow in exhaustion, followed by footage of Andra pulling a twin off a tricycle in the living room).
Barbara (after tricycle incident): Whoa!
Barbara: It's hard to take them anywhere by myself in public. (Footage of Andra playing with a Coinstar machine, fighting with Barbara about leaving a refrigerated case)
Barbara (at store): Andra! (as Andra runs away through the produce section)
Barbara: And that's scary. (Footage of girls fighting at the patio door) I have spent so much time feeling stressed that I haven't been able to really enjoy my kids. (Footage of all three girls screaming and fighting for a prime spot on Barbara's lap, with Andra insistently kicking her sisters out of the way; of the girls screaming at various moments while Barbara asks, "What's going on? What?")
David: We're looking for a lot from Supernanny. Because we need a lot. (Jo closes DVD player.)
Jo: Barbara and David, I'm on my way! (The taxi arrives at the Jeans Family home.)
Observation
Jo rings the doorbell.
David: Who's that? (Barbara opens the door.)
Barbara: Hi!
Jo: Hi! I'm Jo Frost.
Barbara: Barbara Jeans. (They shake hands.)
Jo: Nice to meet you.
Barbara: Welcome to our home!
Barbara (interview): Supernanny has a very good presence. (Jo and David shake hands.)
Jo: Hi David, nice to meet you! (They enter the living room, where the girls are standing around in footie pyjamas.)
Barbara (interview): She said hello to the kids right away. Her tone was very good, upbeat. And so I was pretty pleased. (Jessie comes up to hug Jo.)
Jo: Oh, you're gonna give me a hug? Hello, sweetie.
David (interview): Both the twins gave her a big hug, so I always read the kids. If they like her, that's a good thing.
Jo (laughing as she hugs Leah): Oh, this is lovely! (Andra sits in the kitchen, tying a large red ribbon on her Care Bear.)
Jo (entering kitchen to shake Andra's hand): Hi, Andra. You wanna shake my hand and say hello?
Jo (interview): Today when I walked into the Jeans Family, I think there was a sigh of relief that I had arrived and was, um, ready to take on all the issues.
Jo: I'm here today...
David: OK...
Jo: ...to observe and to watch how your family works. So just go about your day as normal, and, um, I know we've got issues that we're gonna talk about and address and that I'm going to, uh, help you resolve!
Barbara: Lovely.
Jo: So I'm gonna step back and watch you guys and have you get on with it then!
Barbara: All righty, then! (David laughs)
David: Oh boy!
Barbara: Glad you're here!
Observation begins
David: Come on, Andy-Pandy.
Barbara: Andy, do you want jelly today? (Crying in the background)
Andra: No.
Jo (interview): When I first walked into the house, the parents were doing breakfast.
Jessie (holding up a baggie): I want lots of them.
Barbara: Honey, that is lots of them.
Jessie: Ahhhh! (clings to Barbara)
Barbara: What's the matter?
Jessie: I want more chips.
Jo (interview): Jessie this morning, had chips for breakfast.
Jo: Is that your breakfast?
Jo (interview): Leah did not have anything for breakfast.
David: What's up?
Leah (crying): I want chocolate milk.
Jo (interview): There isn't a routine, there isn't a structure in the house in the mornings that the children abide by. (The children are in their pyjamas, playing with a cardboard box on kitchen floor.)
Jo: So I'll follow you up. You're going to get the girls dressed? (Jo follows Barbara upstairs.)
Getting dressed
Barbara (interview): After breakfast, getting the girls dressed-- That was another stressful event. (David looks through drawers in Andra's closet.)
David: How about this pink thing. Andy? Wanna wear this?
Andra: I don't need it.
David: Yeah, you do! (David struggles to get Andra dressed as Jo and Barbara look on) Just get this shirt on you.
Andra: No!
Barbara (walking down hall): All right, shoes. (Now in kitchen) They seemed to have walked away. (Smiles wryly at Jo)
Jo: The disappearing shoes! (David continues to struggle with Andra.)
Jo (to David): Is Andy normally cooperative?
David: No. (Andra wriggles out of David's arms onto the floor. David stands her back up.) Come on!
Jo (in kitchen, holding up a pair of shoes): So whose trainers are these?
Barbara (with Andra on kitchen floor): Let's wear these. No socks for you?
Andra: No!
David (walking through house purposefully): Shoes again! Just missing one now!
Jo (sighs, looks at watch, then camera): We're still looking for a shoe. (Shrugs)
Jo (interview): Andy's not being very cooperative with her father. (Footage of Andra continuing to fight getting dressed. David then looks under furniture for shoes)
Jo: We're looking for shoes again! We can't find the shoes. (Now alone in stairwell) Aaaah! (Alone, to camera) This house badly needs organization!
Barbara (walking through kitchen): I have no idea where her boots are.
Jo (interview): I found out very quickly that the household didn't have much organization at all and it was very chaotic. (Barbara sits on the living room floor with the twins)
Jo: So, Barbara, you're off to the supermarket now?
Barbara (grimly): Yes. We're gonna go to the supermarket.
Barbara (interview): It's hard to take them to the store by myself because I can't control them.
Andra's Care Bear Book Tantrum
David (in garage): Where's Jessie?
Barbara: She's right here. Come on, let's get in the car.
David: Come on Leah, let's get in.
Jessie: Sit right here, sit right here.
Andra: She's sitting right there!
David (in car): Get in your seat.
Andra: No! Don't-- (Eyes widen) Not my Care Bear book!
Jo: And that's how Andra replies back to you. Okay, I'm getting the gist of this now.
David: Yeah. (To Andra) What book?
Andra: My Care Bear book was right here.
David: Your Care Bear book...You haven't seen it for a month.
Andra: It-- I did!
David: Do you want it? You wanna carry your Care Bear book?
Andra (mumbling, looking at her bare feet): Uh-huh.
David: What was that? (Andra looks up, glares at David, and kicks him with both feet.)
Andra: YES!
Jo (interview): She just kicked him. I think it's absolutely crazy.
David (looking sternly at Andra and pulling the book out of her reach): You don't get it.
Andra (reaching out and kicking her feet petulantly): I want it!
David: Well, you kick me, you don't get anything. (Gets out of car)
David (interview): I'd like to be the boss. And I don't feel like I am right now, or that I ever have been.
David: If you don't kick me for a few days, maybe I'll give you your Care Bear book back to you.
Andra: I won't!
David: Mom?
Andra: MOMMY!
Jo (to camera): Tantrum at its best.
Andra: I WANT MOMMY! I want my Care Bear book! Come back, Mommy! Mommy, come back!
David: Andra, stop! Just.... (Andra screams over him.)
Andra: COME BACK! I want you! (Barbara starts the car as Jo looks at her in bewilderment.)
Barbara: Can't wait to hear what you have to say.
Andra: I want you! I. WANT. YOU. MOMMY. HERE!
Announcer: Coming up, on Supernanny: Andra wreaks havoc at the supermarket. And Jo gives her take on Andra. When Supernanny returns.
Jo (interview, interspersed with replay of garage footage, from Andra kicking David to Barbara driving away): Andra kicked her father and he said that she couldn't have her Care Bear book and so she was having a tantrum about that. It was just ridiculous. That tantrum was going on forever. I don't know how Barbara drove that car with Andra screaming the way she was.
Chaos at The Supermarket
Accompanied by Jo, Barbara drags her screaming children from the car through the store parking lot.
Jo (interview): When we arrived at the supermarket, all three girls were arguing who was going to sit in the cart and it was real troublesome. (Leah whines next to Barbara while Andra fights Barbara's efforts to lift her up and put her in the cart next to Jessie.)
Andra: No!
Barbara: We're just going to see if we can fit all of you in the cart. Let's see if Leah can squeeze in next to you.
Leah (crying and pointing at the cart's basket): I want Jessie to go in there!
Andra (shouting): You're squishing me!
Jo (to camera): This is every mother's nightmare: Children playing up in the supermarket, where everyone else can watch you. (Footage of shoppers and store employees looking on)
Barbara: Don't s-- Jessie! (Jessie throws something beyond the cart's basket.)
Andra (running back to the cart and waving a package of paintbrushes, yelling): Mommy, we need new paintbrushes!
Barbara (pushing cart as Jessie rocks Leah back and forth in a headlock, apparently trying to prevent her from steering Jessie's steering wheel): Jessie, what are you doing, honey? Jessie. Jessie! (Jessie leans from cart to grab some brownies while Leah pants, jumps up and down in her seat and frantically steers her steering wheel.)
Andra (screaming): SHUSH! (Barbara leans toward girls in cart and makes a hushing sound.)
Jo (interview): It was real troublesome for Barbara.
Andra (in toy aisle, waving a lavender package): Look, Barbie, Mommy!
Jo (interview): Andra was all over the place, running down all the aisles. (Barbara turns away from twins in cart, looking sharply to her side.)
Barbara: Andra? (Andra stands at a produce bin, picking through tomatoes. Barbara resumes her shopping.)
Barbara: Andra? (Andra wanders off to look at some eggplant.)
Barbara: Andra? (Andra turns the corner, passing some baked goods. She reaches for bananas. Suddenly she gasps, holding fruit rollups in her hands. She then runs off.)
Barbara: Andra? Andra. (Jessie and Leah stand up in the cart to peer after Andra. Assorted shots of Andra rummaging shelves and running down aisles, as Barbara and Jo walk around the store looking for her) Andra! Where are you? (Andra plays around with lottery ticket machine) Andy?
Jo: Oh, dear.
Jo (interview): Barbara doesn't exercise her full control as a parent when Andra is being very demanding. (Jo winds back up a long string of produce bags that Andra pulled off a roll.) I think it's absolutely crazy that Barbara tolerates that kind of behavior from Andra! (More footage of Andra acting up in the store)
Andra (whining): Donut. Donut. Donut. Please, Mommy. Please, Mommy!
Barbara: You need to come with me.
Andra: I'll be extra good if you give me a donut.
(Barbara: (while Andra says "you" in the last sentence) No.)
Barbara: Yeah, right.
Jo (to camera): "I'll be extra good if you give me a donut." Manipulation at its best.
Jo (interview): This supermarket run was just ridiculous. (Footage of Barbara, embarrassed as Andra plays with Coinstar machine, and footage of Barbara pulling Leah away from the candy aisle as Leah shouts, "No!") I definitely feel Barbara needs to take control of that situation, when she is shopping with all three girls.
Back at home
Andra stands in the garage, next to the van. Jessie stomps around in the snow.
Jo: So what happens now, with the girls?
Barbara (putting groceries away): That's what I'm hoping you'll help me with, because I don't really know. Nothing happens, I mean nothing's scheduled with them at all. (One twin rides on a tricycle inside, while outside, another twin on a tricycle is about to run into the patio door. Jo looks on as they bump into doors and walls, both inside and outside.)
Jo (interview): There was no structure or routine to Barbara's day at all with the children. (The girls throw themselves headfirst onto the couch. Barbara rushes in.)
Barbara: All right, you guys--
Jo (interview): She's got so many hours with the girls and she doesn't know what to do with them. (Jo looks on as the girls sit on the floor of the family room, chewing on foam letter/number puzzle squares with the TV on.)
Andra: I'm not your daddy!
Jo (interview): They get bored, they end up fighting with one another. (Footage of Andra chasing, Leah screaming, Jessie throwing and hitting, Leah screams as Andra takes a Play-Doh tool, then runs away) Andra takes to dominate and lead the play. (Andra headlocks a twin, and drags another one out of a large outdoor debris bin filled with toys) Andra and sharing at the moment, they don't mix. (Andra hits a twin with a sofa cushion.)
Andra: Get out! (Andra chases Leah across the yard into the bin, the turns it right side up so that Leah is trapped sitting at the bottom of the bin.)
Leah: Mommy! (Starts crying)
Jo (interview): She's also very aggressive. (Andra starts throwing balls back into the bin that Leah is trapped in, so that Leah gets hit with all the balls.) She hits her twin sisters. (Andra starts rolling the bin around the yard as Leah screams, "Mommy!" from inside, then she finally pushes the bin over so that Leah can crawl out.) That kind of behavior is just not acceptable and it has to be addressed.
Dinner time
David: Dinner time!
Barbara: It's ravioli. (The children pick up the food with their hands and eat it)
Jo: So, do the children normally eat with their hands, even though they've got cutlery?
Barbara: Yes. (Jessie leaves the table. Barbara gets up.) I'll get you water, honey.
Jessie: No, it's right there.
David: Jessie, Jessie! Sit down.
Barbara: Sit down, honey. (Jessie returns to the table.)
David (interview): Meal times are just hellacious for me. If we could all sit down at a meal and stay seated for ten minutes without outbursts, that would be a huge thing for me.
David: Hey, sit down! (Girls scream at the table, Jessie starts climbing across the table. Andra leaves the table) Andra! (David gets Leah and Jessie out of the refrigerator) Get out, out. (Back at table) Sit down. Sit down. Well, I want you to sit down. (Girls scream)
Jo (interview): Mom and Dad were just trying to keep the children at the table. And if I was David and Barbara, I would have had indigestion, I was just uneasy watching it. (Footage of the girls eating with hands, chewing with mouths open, delibrately letting food fall out of their mouths) It was like feeding time at the zoo I think you can say, to be honest.
Andra: No, you don't get it!
David: Hey--
Andra: And I don't want that. It's not COLD! (screaming)
Barbara: Oh, God almighty.
Andra: It's not cold!
Jo (interview): Dinnertime was ridiculous. Andra made a big fuss out of not having the sippy cup that she wanted.
David: What's wrong?
Barbara: What is it, do you want it warm?
David: Do you want this one warmed up?
Andra (pointing across table): I want that one! No, I want that one!
Jo (interview): Andra was not letting up. That kind of behavior is a no-no in my book! (Leah screams with her mouth full of food as Andra takes her sippy cup away.)
David (pulling Andra away from Leah): No, Andra--
Andra: It's mine!
David (taking sippy cup): No, let's--
Andra: No. It's mine! It's mine! (Reaches across table)
David: Sit down. Go back and sit down.
Barbara: Sit down honey.
Andra: No, it's mine!
David (to Leah): This one? (Hands sippy cup back to Leah)
Andra: No, no, no, no! (Tries to grab cup back)
David: No, Andy, Andy, Andy--
Andra: No, I want it!
David: Do you want to go to your room?
Andra: I don't want that cup! (Cries, struggles against David)
Barbara: What is the big deal about that cup?
David: Let's go now. Come on. (Stands up to take Andra away from table. Jo looks incredulously at the camera, then back at the scene.)
Andra: I don't wanna go to my room! (Still at the dinner table, Andra lies in Barbara's lap. Barbara rubs her back as if to calm Andra down.)
Jo (interview): This child has got too much leeway. She has tantrums that the parents tolerate. It's just disgusting and it needs to change.
Parent meeting
Jo (interview, as footage replays from the day's observations): When I'm observing a household, I take mental notes of how the family dynamics work. And then later on in the evening, we sit down and discuss the issues that need to be addressed.
Jo: OK! I've made some mental notes of your wonderful family, and I would love for us to sit down and have a talk about what I've seen today.
David and Barbara: OK.
Jo: You ready? Let's do it then.
Barbara (interview): When Jo said that she was going to talk to us about what she had seen, my first thought was, "Uh oh!" You know, I was a little bit nervous.
Jo: Let me begin by saying to the pair of you, how proud you must be as parents, to have three beautiful daughters. And so on that note, I'd like to talk about the two of you raising your three girls and what I have seen. And the first thing that comes to mind when I walked into the house was organization. (African-style drum noises beat steadily and with increasing intensity in the background.)
Barbara: Or lack thereof?
Jo: Right. Very much so. It's very chaotic. We don't know where anything is. And it causes a lot of wasted time. Also,
I'd like to talk about the routine that you have in this house. It's definitely unstructured. When there isn't a routine in the house, your children don't know what's happening or what's coming next. All three of them then get really bored. What it allows the children to do, is misbehave for your attention.
Andra behaves in a way that I find disrespectful. She shouts, and she yells. Andra, in the back of the car, crying, was absolutely mayhem. How do you focus and concentrate on driving a car when you've got the kids screaming and having a tantrum in the back? But not once did I hear you turn round and say, "Stop that behavior."
Today I saw a classic at dinner time-- Andra wanting that sippy cup. And what happened was, she had a tantrum. And when she throws a bone, you guys go and fetch! Andra's behavior with Jessie and Leah has got to stop. The snatching, the aggressiveness. That has to stop. And what's happening is, is Jessie's learning. Jessie is copying, and the pair of you are not enforcing any form of discipline.
You know, you have to get a grip on that. Their behavior is not acceptable, and the only two people who are putting up with that is the pair of you. You're tolerating it, you're putting up with it, and then you're wondering why your children are behaving the way they are.
And as a result of all of this, I see a tired Barbara. I see a Barbara who is emotionally drained, that inside, actually wants to be Barbara, and not Mum 24/7.
Barbara (interview): I'm pretty exhausted, and spent, and for somebody to recognize that, it was a little emotional for me.
David (interview): Barbara's been exhausted since the birth of the kids. She is exhausted and it's a hard job.
Barbara (interview): It was hard to hear that Andra's behavior in particular is so over the top, and completely unacceptable.
Jo: I see the pair of you at a point where I feel is quite desperate. Tomorrow, we are going to change it for the better. And we're going to have positive results all the way around so that your family is functioning a lot better.
Barbara (interview): I wonder if Supernanny can pull it off. Really, because that has been my big question.
David (interview): My first fear is well, maybe she'll give us these things and what if they don't work?
Announcer: Coming up, on Supernanny: Jo teaches Barbara how to keep Andra in check. But Andra won't go down without a fight. When Supernanny returns.
Teaching begins
Jo (interview): Today, when I came into the house, wanting change drastically, I put a routine on the wall.
Household routine
Jo posts a routine on the kitchen wall.
Jo (to David and Barbara): OK, this is a routine.
Barbara: Yay!
Jo: Because your house needs organization, because we can't find anything anywhere, and there's no structure to the day.
Jo (interview): I've broken the whole day down for Barbara so that she knows what she's going to do with her girls during the day.
Jo: And from four to five, we're going to do an hour of constructive play with the girls, so that they have something to look forward to in the afternoon.
Jo (interview): The routine being structured with organized activities, is really going to help the girls so that they're not bored, so that they don't play up and misbehave.
David (interview): Even if we just got some semblance of organization I think it would really help.
Barbara (interview): I've been chronically disorganized my whole life. But I'm definitely confident about my ability to make that happen.
Jo: So this is the routine. Out with the old, in with the new, and let's get started.
The Naughty Stool
Jo (interview): The behavior I want to eliminate in the house is the yelling, the shouting, the tantrums, the aggression, the kicking, the biting, and that's why the next thing I introduced into the house was a discipline technique! [As Jo comments, footage of Jessie being aggressive by hitting a couch and hitting Leah in the back is shown]
Jo (to the girls): I don't want you girls to shout at your mummy and daddy anymore, to be rude like this: "I don't wanna do this ever!" (Jessie smiles) Yes, Jessie. Yes! And if you don't listen, mummy is going to put you on the Naughty Stool. (Jo shows the stools to the girls as a horror-style violin screetches.)
Jo (to Barbara): I'm going to explain to you now the discipline of the Naughty Stool, OK? I want you to come down literally to their level. Give them eye contact, and I want you to use a low-toned voice, OK? You give your children a warning first to stop the behavior. If they carry on, I want you to then walk them over and place them on their Naughty Stool and say to them, "You're gonna stay there now until I come and get you," and you walk away.
Barbara (interview): I'm not looking forward to experiencing some of the Naughty Stool episodes with Andra because she is a fighter.
Jo (interview): David spends a lot of time away on business, so that means Barbara has to deal with all three girls, and the responsibility is solely on Barbara. (The day passes) It wasn't long before Andra started yelling and shouting at Mum. She really tests Barbara.
Barbara (pulling clothes from the twins' closet as Andra also tries to choose clothes): No, you may not decide for them. (To Jo) Watch out, excuse me.
Andra (screaming): YES!!!!!!!!!
Jo: Tell her to stop shouting at you. Every time you--
Barbara: You may not shout at me like that. That is not acceptable! You shout at me again, and you're going on the Naughty Stool! (Andra sobs, then screams at Barbara again)
Barbara: All right, let's go.
Jo: Mom. Mom. It's not a game! (Jo points to the stool, then stares Andra down) On the Naughty Stool!
Barbara: You sit on the Naughty Stool until I tell you that it's OK to get up, do you understand me? (Grabs a small plastic doll from Andra’s hand.)
Andra: That’s my Polly Pocket! (Reaches out for Barbara, then crawls away between Barbara's legs. Barbara places Andra back on the stool.)
Jo: Andra! Andra, sit down. Firm voice, Barbara. (To Andra) Sit down and you'll stay there because you were being very rude to Mummy. Now you stay here on the stool until Mummy comes and gets you. Because that behavior is not acceptable. And it's not a game. (Barbara and Jo leave Andra alone on the stool. Sultry jazz music plays. Andra pouts and rests her cheek on the couch arm.)
Andra: Poopie head!
Jo: Just ignore that. (Andra moves off the Naughty Stool to the other Naughty Stool)
Barbara: Sit down. (Andra laughs loudly and defiantly, staring at Barbara as she goes back to her own stool.)
Jo (to Barbara, in kitchen): Don't lose hope with Andra. ("2 minutes later" title card displays, and Andra sits on the stool on her knees.) I know that she's testing more than the younger girls have. ("3 minutes later" card displays. Andra shouts, "Mommy, Mommy!") It's all about repetition and following through and being consistent with discipline. ("4 minutes later" card displays)
Jo (interview): After giving them their minutes, she's then to come back and actually explain why they were put on the Naughty Stool and then to ask for an apology.
Barbara: You were sitting on this stool because of shouting at Mommy and being very rude to Mommy, and I am not gonna tolerate that anymore.
Jo (interview): She tested Mum on every level. And eventually, Andra got the message.
Barbara: This is where you're gonna be if you do that again. Do you understand?
Andra: I won't!
Barbara: And I want an apology.
Andra: Sorry. (They hug. Jo nods in approval. Barbara walks away. Andra perks up and tosses a toy across the dining room.) Zoom! Zoom!
Jo (Interview): What I wanted to do was to decrease the amount of aggression in Andra. Andra needs to be taught that she has two other sisters in her family that she has to share with. So I brought in a shopping game for Mummy to play with all three girls.
Jo: Andra, Leah, Jessie. We're gonna play Shops today!
Jo (interview): There were two shopping carts, one cash register, and Mum had to decide who was playing what role.
Jo: I think it would be a very good idea if Leah or Jessie was the cashier first.
Jo (interview): I encouraged Barbara to make sure that Andra wasn't the cashier that she wanted to be, because Andra always wants to get her own way. And it's important that Andra realizes that she can't get her way all the time.
Barbara (to Andra): Honey, we're all gonna rotate.
Jessie: My money!
Barbara: OK.
Andra: No, I'm being it first!
Barbara: Andra, honey, first, Jessie's gonna be the cashier.
Andra: No, I don't want to!
Jo: We're all gonna rotate.
Barbara: Andra, we're all gonna rotate.
Jo: Jessie, you're the cashier, OK?
Barbara: So you can be just like the cashier at the store.
Andra: No, I am it!
Barbara: OK, hey, you don't shout at your sister.
Andra (to Jessie): No, it's my turn! (Throwing shopping bags in the air, looking enviously at the cash register) I want to be it!
Jo: Address that manner, Barbara. That has got to stop!
Barbara: So, what do I say?
Jo: Call her over to you. Say to her, "Do not talk to me like that."
Barbara (crawling over to Andra, who managed to take over the cash register): Andra. You need to look at me. I don't want you to shout-- Andra! (Andra jumps up as Leah takes one of the cashier's brown shopping bags.)
Andra (pointing at Leah): Look what Leah did!
Barbara: Andra!
Andra: Look what Leah did! She took my bag! (Barbara tries holding Andra back from Leah)
Barbara: Andra, stop it! Mommy is trying to talk to you! (Andra gets up and runs after Leah. Barbara runs after Andra.)
Jo: Stay calm!
Barbara: Andra! (Glances anxiously at Jo)
Jo: You're in control, just stay calm! (Barbara takes a big breath and Jo follows her across the room to confront Andra.)
Barbara: Andy. Mommy's trying to talk to you. When I'm trying to talk to you, I need you to listen to me.
Jo (interview): Barbara's really struggling. Andra was totally disrespectful towards Barbara. I had to address the situation myself.
Jo (to Andra): That behavior is no good. And that behavior will make you go and sit on that Naughty Stool. You've got to learn just to talk and ask Mummy. Do you understand me?
Andra: Yes.
Jo: Thank you very much. Now off you go and play.
Barbara (interview): When Andra was pulled aside and Jo was talking to her, it was very difficult. I've never seen her face look like it looked.
Jo (interview): Andra does need to have respect for her mother. And Barbara needs to make sure that Andra knows exactly who's in charge.
Jo: So we'll put the food back.
Barbara: All right.
Jo: Onto the shelves as well, and then you designate who's gonna have the carts again, and start again. 'Cause everybody's shopping. This is a supermarket! Leah playing with the bags. Andra organizing stacks of food, and Jessie dealing with the money.
Andra: Jessie, here's your money.
Jessie: Good! How are you today? (Girls continue to play, and Barbara and Jo give them praise for nicely playing together.)
Jo: There you go. There's another one. Well done!
Barbara: Very nice!
Jo: Thank you.
Barbara: Very, very good.
Leah: Bye!
Barbara: Bye! Thanks for shopping! Safe driving!
Involvement
Jo (interview): Because shopping for Barbara is such a nightmare, I introduced to her today the Involvement technique so that she could go shopping and get the girls involved so that they wouldn't start getting bored and misbehave.
Jo: The first thing I want you to do is write the girls out a shopping list. And take a few things off of your list and put it on their list. And I want you to tell all three children what your expectations of them are.
Barbara: OK. Girls, we are gonna go to the grocery store. We're going to the supermarket, and Mommy is gonna need your help once we get to the supermarket. (Barbara writes lists for the girls.)
Andra: Can I have that list?
Barbara: OK, we are all strapped in. (They drive to the store with no commotion, then begin crossing the parking lot)
Jo: So the main objective here is to not keep your children in the supermarket any longer than necessary...
Jo (interview): What I was teaching Barbara, was that she should be able to get her girls to help her, and to put food and veg into the shopping cart.
Barbara (as Leah gives her juice): Good job! A box of strawberries, please? Jessie can get the cucumber. Andra, can you get a little bit of broccoli please?
Jo (interview): I'm really proud of Barbara, how she's managing all three of the children. She's able to shop and get what's on her list. It's such a big improvement. Marvelous. (Andra picks up a potato.)
Andra: Oh, I want this one.
Barbara: I don't blame you, that's a good looking potato.
Jo (interview): Andra's engaged in stimulating activities, so her focus is on that, rather than on her mum's attention.
Barbara: You girls did so well at the grocery store today, I'm so very pleased with the way you helped Mommy. So now we get to ride the horsie!
Andra: Yay! (Twins ride the horse ride after Andra drops a quarter in. Jo, Barbara and the girls exit the grocery store)
Jo (interview): For mum, it was a really good, successful shopping trip! Definitely, than what it had been before. Because it had been a nightmare!
Barbara (interview): Jo has helped me gain some confidence in my ability to take them into a store. That was really great, it was awesome!
Family Test Run
Jo (interview): I'm leaving the family for a few days. I've taught Barbara and David all the techniques that they need for their family.
David: Thank you. Hurry back! (Shakes hands with Jo, they laugh. Jo hugs Barbara.)
David (interview): I think it's a tough time ahead. My whole hesitation of it is, "OK, can we keep it up?" (Jo hugs girls goodbye)
Jo: Guys, remember to stick to your routine, so you've got some structure in your day. All right? See you soon.
Barbara: OK. Bye.
Jo: Bye. (Jo leaves the house)
Barbara (interview): You know, tomorrow I'll be waking up without Jo there, for the first time. I'm definitely nervous about that.
Jo (interview): It's gonna be challenging. But it's down to them to implement everything I've taught them. And whilst they're doing it, I'm gonna be watching them. (Jo gets into her taxi and drives away.)
Announcer: Coming up on Supernanny: Barbara and David are left to fend for themselves. And while Jo's away, everything goes astray. When Supernanny returns.
Jo (interview): I'm leaving the family for a few days, and they need to watch for Andra, and her shouting, and yelling, so I really hope they stay on top of that. And whilst they're doing it, I'm gonna be watching them. (Jo sits down in a living room and turns on the TV to watch DVD footage of the Family Test Run.)
Barbara (putting other girls in their car seats): Andy, get in the car and sit down.
Andra: No! (Runs back into the house)
Barbara: Stop!
Jo: Where's Andra going?
Barbara (interview): Andra has a very dominant personality, and that's why I'm preparing myself for a fight.
Barbara (following Andra through the house): Andy, do not run away from me! (Sitting Andra down in stairwell) I have no idea where that hairband is that you had on this morning. That was your responsibility, not mine.
Andra (shaking her head violently): I-- Not the pink one.
Barbara: I don't have that, I--
Andra: The new ones!
Barbara: Stop talking to me like that.
Andra: The new ones, I said the new ones.
Jo: She's stalling the situation, Barbara. Get Andra into the car.
Andra (as Barbara straps her into her car seat): I know how to undo that!
Jo: Oh, my word.
Barbara: Don't you dare! You do that and you're going inside and sitting on the Naughty Stool.
Jo: Andra's still carrying on with her attitude.
Andra (to Barbara): I'm, not, gonna, PLAY WITH YOU!
Jo: Tell Andra to stop shouting!
Barbara (interview): During the time that Jo has been gone, I have been having a hard time with the discipline with Andra, and it's been a challenge.
David (interview): I don't know what I'm doing, I don't have any other answers for what's going on. My main fear is just that I haven't been around working with them much. So I'm the weak link kind of thing. (Grimly walks into family room, where Andra is sitting on the sofa with a coloring book.)
Andra: No, I'm going to stick on my pictures! Go away.
David: No, now you go into the Naughty Chair.
Andra: No, I don't want to!
Jo: David, what did I teach you? Warning first!
David: Sit there. Because you're kicking and fighting me. And you're not listening to--
Andra: GO AWAY!
David (interview): I was very uncomfortable tonight with putting Andy in the Naughty Stool, because I wasn't sure if my voice was right. I did get down to eye level and what have you, but that was the first time I'd tried it.
David (to Andra on Naughty Stool): Stay there.
Andra: MOM!!!
Jo: Oh, here we go.
David (at dinner table, while Andra screams in the background): What do we do about the yelling part?
Andra: MOMMY! (Jessie covers her ears) I want Mom!!
Barbara: All she has to do is--
David: All she has to do is apologize?
Barbara: Apologize and that's it.
David: It seems so simple! (As the dining room resounds with Andra's screams)
Andra: Mommy!!! Mom.
David (leaving table to face Andra on Naughty Stool): OK, stop crying, It's OK.
Andra: Mommy.
David: Are you going to apologize to me?
Andra (angrily): SORRY!
David: Thank you.
Jo: Dad, you need a better Sorry than that! Nothing learnt there. Nothing!
Barbara (interview): Dave is away right now, and that adds greater pressure to me. Because not only am I trying to implement a new routine, but then I'm also just dealing with the stress of being alone with the three of them. (Jessie pushes Leah off the tricycle and Leah cries.)
Barbara: Whoa! Jessie! (Leah continues crying.)
Barbara: What are you doing? It's not okay to keep hurting your sister!
Barbara (interview): Those are definite low points for me when I feel my tension, feeling like, "What am I going to do if it's not working? (Jessie falls off the tricycle as she fights Barbara's attempts to calm her down.) Then it all goes downhill from there. (As Jessie drives around the house in the tricycle, Jessie then bumps into Leah on purpose. Leah starts crying again.)
Barbara: You're gonna start needing to cooperate.
Andra: I don't need to!
Jo: Oh, my word.
Andra: I hate family breakfasts!
Barbara: We are leaving! Sit down at the table.
Jessie: Can't go. (She tackles Leah and pins her to kitchen floor. Leah cries)
Barbara: Leah! Leah is now wanting to go on the Naughty Stool. (Jo sighs as she continues to watch the DVD.)
Barbara: Wait wait wait! Girls, we need socks and shoes. (A child runs through the kitchen wearing a pink and purple clown wig.)
Jo: The kids are running riots! (Footage of Jessie hitting Barbara, and Barbara scolding her) Great! Now they're hitting you! I've got to get back! (Jo rises from the sofa in a huff.)
Announcer: Coming up on Supernanny: Jo returns to the Jeans household. And Barbara and David struggle to redeem themselves. When Supernanny returns.
Parent evaluation
Barbara (at front door): Hiya! (Jo and Barbara hug.)
Jo (interview): After a couple of days, I came back to the Jeans household to show Barbara and David some DVD footage of themselves since I've been away.
Jo: Well, I've got some footage here that I'd like all of us to sit down and watch. (At kitchen table, Jo opens the DVD player.) OK, let's take a look.
Andra: I know how to undo that!
Barbara: I know you do.
Andra: I'm, not, gonna, PLAY WITH YOU! (Jo laughs.)
Barbara: It's horrifying.
Jo: I understand the circumstances, you're running late. But don't give her that control. She's not doing as she's told, and she's getting away with it.
Barbara: OK. (Jo starts DVD player.)
David: Will you apologize to me?
Andra: Mommy. I want MOMMY!!
Jo: "Will you apologize to me?"
David: Yes, I'm asking permission from a four-year old!
Jo: If you give your children a chance, they will easily manipulate the situation and Andra's in control of that discipline at the moment. (Jo starts DVD player.)
David: Are you going to apologize to me?
Andra: SORRY!
David: Thank you! (Barbara and David laugh.)
David: I couldn't wait to hear that! She finally said she was sorry, and that's all I wanted to hear.
Jo: People say to me, "When's a Sorry a genuine Sorry?" And I think a genuine Sorry is not in the word, it's how it's delivered.So you could have turned around and just said to her, "Please, talk to me properly." (Jo starts DVD player.)
[Footage of Jessie driving around the house and bumping into her twin sister Leah]
Leah: WAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!
Barbara: What are you doing to your sister?
Jessie: Ah, ma! (now running into Barbara with the tricycle)
Barbara: Can you watch you're doing please?
Jo: Your tone of voice, not good at all. Not good at all. Every time she's registering that she's getting away with it. And that's the message that goes across.
Barbara: No, you're absolutely right. If it would have been, none of this would have happened. (Jo closes DVD player.)
Jo: Right. OK. So what we're gonna do today, guys, is tweak all the stuff that needs tweaking. All right?
Barbara: Sure. Great.
Jo: All right, let's get started.
Reinforcement
David (to Andra): Give me your battery.
Jo: Say, "If you don't listen to me, I'm gonna place you on the Naughty Stool."
David: You're not listening to me. You're going on the Naughty Stool.
Jo (interview): David still needs to get the smaller details on the Naughty Stool technique.
David (carrying Andra to Naughty Stool): OK--
Jo: Stay calm, David! Stay calm!
David: Come on! Andra, stay here for 4 minutes and apologize to me then you can leave.
Andra: SORRY! (David walks away. Andra pounds her fist on the stool in frustration)
Jo (in kitchen, as Andra screams in background): Keep calm. OK?
David: Well, it's a little hard. (Laughs)
Jo: I know. But what she can do is, she can sense that. She will learn that when you follow through with this Naughty Stool technique, that it's you she must listen to.
David: So will you apologize to me, to get off the chair?
Andra: Sorry!
David: That isn't a very serious sorry.
Andra: Sorry! (Cries)
Jo: OK, David, this is where we're at now. We're at the last stage with the apology. (To Andra) Look at Daddy, stop whingeing and say "Sorry"!
Andra: Sorry! Sorry.
Jo: There, OK. See the difference in tone?
David: Yeah. Thank you. And now only 15 more years of this and I might be on your level? (They laugh.)
Jo: You did good, you did good, you did good, though!
Jo (interview): Barbara's definitely struggling with discipline, so I'm gonna be teaching Barbara how to project and to maintain a low tone of voice.
Jo (leaning forward and grasping Barbara by the elbows): I'd like you to literally say, "No! Stop that!"
Barbara (chuckles for a moment, then sobers up and repeats, grabbing Jo by the elbows): No, stop that!
Jo: OK. That was good. That was good for a first time. Just bring the voice out with more clarity.
Barbara (still smiling a bit): No, stop that!
Jo: OK, now do a happy praise voice. So bring your voice up high: "Andra! That is really fantastic!"
Barbara (looking away to avoid cracking up, clears throat, then says): Andra! That is really fantastic!
Jo: "No, that is not acceptable."
Barbara: That is not acceptable.
Jo: "That is very good!"
Barbara (almost mockingly): That is very good!
Jo: "Behave yourself."
Barbara: Behave yourself.
Jo: "I do not want you to do that."
Barbara: Do not do that! (Laughs)
Jo: That was brilliant! (Laughs, reaches out to hug Barbara)
Barbara (interview): Using my voice and my tone and my expression as a way to manage my kids, I think that gives me a little bit more confidence and more hope.
Barbara (to Andra, on Naughty Stool): I need you to apologize to me.
Andra: Sorry.
Jessie (in a different Naughty Stool scene): Sorry, Mommy!
Barbara: One complete circle around the umbrella! (As Andra runs in a circle in the backyard) Yay! Pick up the ball! Beautiful! (Andra puts a sticker on a "Success Chart" that was never featured in the episode. Andra and Barbara hug.)
Barbara (interview): I think Jo is great, I think she's amazing. I'm really hopeful that I can maintain the techniques and the things that we've been working on while she's here. (Barbara and Jo give each other a high five across the dining room table while the girls make paper butterflies during craft time.)
Announcer: Coming up on Supernanny: Jo departs for good. Can the Jeans make it without her? When Supernanny returns.
Jo says goodbye
Andra (holding up a piece of paper that had a butterfly shape cut out of it): Look it. I have a butterfly face.
Barbara (interview): Having a routine, for me to be able to have activities with the children, has been a really positive change for us. (The girls peacefully decorate paper butterflies at the dining table with Jo and Barbara.)
Jo: Leah, can you show me your butterfly? (Leah shyly holds up her pink butterfly.)
Barbara (interview): It feels so much less stressful. (Barbara and Jessie play with Play-Doh.) Jessie's tantrums have gone down.
Jo (with Jessie, looking at a book with a stylus): Can you see the petals?
Barbara (interview): She's not acting out, and that's a huge improvement with Jessie.
Andra (in backyard, shouting): Well done, Jessie! (Claps)
Barbara (interview): I have noticed improvements with Andra, in particular. (Footage of Andra going down a slide, playing as Barbara tells her "Good job!") She's not shouting. She's not being aggressive with her sisters.
Andra: You can do it! (Leah walks down a balancing beam, holding a ball while Barbara walks alongside her.)
Barbara (interview): Andra has actually not even been back on the Naughty Stool.
Andra (with David and twins on the couch): I love you. (Reaches up and hugs, kisses David)
David: Oh, I love you so much too. (Hugs back)
David (interview): I really didn't expect to see this much change in this short a period of time. (At dinner table, Andra is eating quietly. There is no screaming at the table, and the girls are using cutlery.)
Barbara (using voice of praise): Nicely done! Everybody is sitting so well!
David (interview): My favorite times now are breakfast and dinner, when we all sit together and get to hang out together.
Barbara: Let me see your pretty face! (Leah smiles)
Jo (interview): Barbara's become empowered, and as a result, the children have learned their place.
Barbara (at eye level with the three girls, in kitchen): We are gonna stay seated at the table, and we are gonna eat dinner! (All the girls kiss Barbara.)
Barbara (interview): We're absolutely gonna miss Jo. It's been amazing, it's been wonderful to have her here. She has been very supportive. (Jo kisses and hugs the girls, talks to Barbara in her bedroom.)
Jo (in kitchen with Barbara): I'm quite tearful. (Wipes her eyes)
Barbara: Me too. (Wipes eyes)
Jo: You've been a real inspiration. I just hope that you keep that strength. All right?
Barbara: I appreciate that. Thank you.
Jo: Take care. (They hug.)
Jo (interview): When I said goodbye to Barbara, I felt an energy from her that was really overwhelming. It really touched me emotionally.
Jo: Who gets kisses first?
Andra: Me. (All three girls surround Jo.)
Jo: Bye-bye, darling. (To twins) Ah, bye-bye, darling, bye-bye, darling.
David (teary): Bye-bye to you, Jo! (David and Jo hug.)
Jo: Take care! (Barbara and Jo hug for the last time.)
Jo (interview): You walk out of the house and you say goodbye to a woman that actually knows that she can do it.
Jo: Bye! Bye, Jessie! (Barbara wipes tears from her eyes and shrugs with an embarrassed smile.)
Jo (interview): I left feeling that Barbara found something within herself that was priceless. (Jo steps into the taxi.) I've done what I was meant to do here in this family and, uh, I'm off to the next one now! (The taxi drives away.)
Family update
In the kitchen, Barbara kisses an owie on Leah's leg.
Barbara (interview): Jo has helped function with my kids. (Barbara exclaims "Yay!" while Andra reads a book at the dining table.) And helped me feel stronger. (Barbara hugs a twin consolingly, and also wears glasses for the first time in the episode.) And in feeling stronger, I think I do feel more like myself. (Barbara reads to the girls on the family room floor.)
David (interview): The impact that Jo has had on my family is huge. It's changed everyday life into everyday living! It's changed just trying to get through the day to enjoying the day. (David and Barbara push the girls on swings. Barbara plays in the backyard with all three girls.)
Barbara (interview): It has become more fun with the girls. I've been able to enjoy them more than really, in a long time than ever.
Barbara (still using voice of praise to a girl playing with the foam number puzzles in backyard): Oh, good job!
Jessie and Leah (interview): I'm a good girl now!
Andra (interview): I love Jo-Jo.
Andra (on swing): I wanna go backwards!
Barbara: You wanna go backwards?
Barbara (interview): I feel very hopeful for our future so that we're able to live happily ever after! I mean, I really would just say, "Thank you." (Tears up. Footage plays of the Jeans Family sitting together by the swing set.)
Closing credits
Jessie: My teeth are small!
Producer (off-screen): Are they? (Laughter)
Leah: My teeth are...My teeth are here!