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The McKinney Family

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Note: Because of Family Requests, we request that users do not contact Kaiden regarding his time on Supernanny or any of the post-episode events, such as the CPS investigation or his mother's death. We must respect his desires as he continues to undergo the grieving process, regardless of his past behavior.

The McKinney Family is the thirteenth episode of Season 6 of the American Supernanny show.

Episode summary[]

See also: The McKinney Family/Transcript
Jo arrives in Reno, Nevada to take on her toughest kid ever: 3-year-old Kaiden, who is so unruly, he was expelled from two preschools. He also knows some swear words and can be very destructive.

Meanwhile, 6-year-old Kayla doesn't get any attention from mom because of Kaiden, and she’s fed up with it. In order to get mom's time, she gets sulky, defiant and sometimes aggressive.

Can Jo convince this single mom to get on with the program and help her to get wild kid Kaiden under control? Or will Mom go down for the count?

Episode Recap[]

Observation[]

After Jo meets the family, Kaiden begins to kick off, starting to climb on the top of the TV. Ashley attempts to put him in his room, but Kaiden puts up a massive fight. At one point, he bit his mother in the privates, and peeing his pants on purpose. After Kaiden settles down, Jo talks to Ashley about Kaiden's behavior and how he was kicked out of two schools. When Ashley and Kayla are coloring, Kaiden begins hitting Ashley with a toy lightsaber. Ashley took it away and Kaiden erupted with fury. Kaiden pulled her hair out to try to get the lightsaber back, but she still said no. Jo noticed a warning will not work on Kaiden, and that he needs a "one strike and you're out".

Jo suggested that the family go outside, Kaiden started running dangerously close to the street. When at the park, he began throwing rocks, and as soon as he did, they went home. Kaiden ran across the road, and almost got hit by a car, and as they went inside, the safety latch was broken on the door, and Kaiden started to run out the door. Jo needs some safety to fix the locks. Ashley made lunch for the children, and Kaiden threw his lunch at her. Jo also talks to Kaiden about his behavior, to see if he's aware of it, and how it affects Ashley. Jo also says that she can't help but feel sorry for him.

Later on in the evening, Ashley is ready to go the gym to workout. Jo is concerned about this as it is late, but they went anyway, and Jo thinks it should be bathtime. Kaiden and Kayla were playing in the soft play area, but as soon as it was time to go home, Kaiden was totally wound up, and Kayla was bored stiff because she didn't have any attention today. Jo also talks to Kayla about Ashley always being with Kaiden. Kaiden begins to kick off and spits at Ashley. Back at home Ashley gets dinner ready, and bathtime. Kayla begins to kick off to get mom's time during bedtime. Jo found the bedtime routine to be dramatic, as there were no bedtime stories, no cuddles & no good nights. Jo finds it not funny of Ashley saying, "I didn't stay longer at the gym". Jo has seen enough.

Parent Meeting[]

Jo talks to Ashley about Kaiden's anger and behavior and the schedule.

Teaching[]

Jo got a routine for the schedule. After that, Kaiden threw a photo frame on the floor. Ashley steps in to calm him down, but then Kaiden punches Ashley in the nose that even shocks Jo, who claims that Kaiden is not ready for the timeout technique. She demands Ashley put Kaiden in his room to calm for the One strike and you're out technique. Later after that, he came out of his room as if it never happened and Ashley was in denial. Ashley puts Kaiden back in his room and he gets defiant and took his clothes off and Ashley follows through the technique. After almost 2 hours Kaiden came out fully clothed and apologized to Ashley for punching her in the nose. Afterwards, Kayla started to misbehave and smacks Kaiden after he won’t give her ball back, and Kayla admits to Ashley and Jo that she smacked him in the face. Ashley put Kayla in timeout, as request from Jo, but Kayla didn’t respond well. Eventually, Kayla does her timeout and apologizes for what happened earlier.

Meanwhile, Jo had tools for Ashley for fixing the locks on the door and then Kaiden tried to break the childproof handle off the doorknob and begins to kick off and bite his mom in her privates again. Ashley loses patience, so Jo steps in, scolds him for biting Ashley & taking the childproof handle off the doorknob with a stick, and put him in his room to cool down. Ashley finds it hopeless that Kaiden will never listen to her. Jo tells her that she’s only given him 50%, and that she doesn’t follow through on anything, and then Ashley got mad. Jo pulled her to the bedroom and out came "The Real Ashley" where she is swearing like a sailor and she said her friend said "You should beat that kid, and he would stop. Not going to beat that kid", but Ashley said that when Kaiden bites her she wants to "beat his ass", and that's why she shut down. Jo said hello to "The Real Ashley" Jo applauds Ashley for recognizing that she is not going to be physical with Kaiden, because that's abuse. But she needs to hold rank in her home and that the children need consistency.

After all the drama, Jo needed to address the family's bedtime routine. After Ashley happily reads Kayla and Kaiden a bedtime story, Jo coaches her through the Stay in Bed technique. After he is put in bed, along with Kayla, Kaiden started to get out of bed over and over and over again. The second time he did, he had to go poop, saying he'll go in his pants. The third time he did, he peeped in Kayla's room, causing her to scream at him to get out. He then wished that Ashley and Jo were dead, to which both of them did not respond to, as there being no communication. Ashley did very well to put him back to bed almost an hour he gave in and went to bed. Jo leaves for three days, leaving Ashley on her own to follow through with the techniques.

DVD Meeting[]

Jo returns to show Ashley the footage.

Clip[]

The family was seen playing Wii Sports. Kayla was performing the arm motions for swinging a bowling ball, indicating that they were playing bowling. After Kaiden then hits the television, Ashley then warns him not to hit it again or he will be sent to bed early. Kaiden ignored her and hit the television again. Ashley sent him to his room and threatened that if Kaiden hits that television again, he will never play the Wii again. Ashley and Kayla spend some quality time with Kayla's friend, making crafts. Ashley improved with the Stay in Bed technique on Kaiden, and he doesn't come out of his room after three attempts. When Kayla was kicking and being sulky towards her mom, she sent her to her room for the night, telling her that she won’t play the rest of the game. She then later yelled saying that “The rules aren’t any different for you than your brother”. Jo later called that quote into question. Ashley told Jo, "They the same but she should have a timeout." Jo said "I'm going to repeat what you said. They the same but she should have a timeout." Jo asks Ashley if they are the same or not the same. Ashley told Jo they are not the same thing as of Kaiden gets One strike and you're out when Kayla gets timeout.

Reinforcement[]

Jo gets back to work for Kayla and Kaiden for some rules for Ashley when the kids misbehave. Kayla throws a fit about a color of the marker and Ashley gives her a warning, which Kayla ignores. This triggered Jo to step up and give Kayla a warning, to which she responds to and keeps on coloring with no complaint. Shortly after, Kaiden begins to climb on the TV again and stabs his mother with a pen. Ashley sends him to his room to calm down, and he begins to climb on the TV and cuss at Ashley. She tells Jo, who tells her to ignore it. Three minutes later he came out and apologized to her and Jo is pleased with the changes happening in the family.

Jo said her final goodbyes to The McKinney Family.

Family Members[]

Person Age Relation to Family
Ashley McKinney 25 (born December 16, 1983 died May 7, 2022) Mother
Kayla McKinney 6 (born July 7, 2003) Daughter
Kaiden McKinney 3 (born March 4, 2006) Son
The child was disciplined via one of Jo Frost's techniques.
The child was disciplined via one of Jo Frost's techniques, but was deemed too aggressive in which a different discipline method was used due to the behavior he was showing.

Behind the Scenes[]

  • This episode was filmed in November-December 2009.

Events post-episode[]

  • Ashley got married a second time and gave birth to a third child named Veyah Mae in 2014.
  • Ashley was investigated by CPS and lost custody of Kayla and Kaiden after her mother discovered that she had abused the kids. As revealed by Kaiden, she would hit him and Kayla and cover up any evidence (such as bruises or marks) using makeup. Kaiden lived with his grandmother while Kayla was placed in foster care.
  • In a YouTube comment, Kaiden revealed that Ashley was arrested. Although he did not state the reason for her arrest, most people speculated that the arrest was related to drugs.
  • Kayla graduated high school in 2021.
  • Ashley died on May 7, 2022, at age 38. Her cause of death was a drug overdose. Kaiden revealed in a YouTube comment that she went into septic shock and was told to quit doing drugs. She didn't stop despite medical advice and died from a terminal illness.
  • Kayla got married in 2022; her full name is now Kayla Sky Idso.
  • Kaiden graduated high school in 2024.
  • Kaiden also took a hiatus from YouTube.

Fan Reception[]

While not considered one of the worst Supernanny episodes, The McKinney Family received mixed receptions. Kaiden was quite unpopular among fans due to his aggression. Some considered him to be one of the most aggressive children to appear on the show. Kayla received sympathy from fans, who understood that her actions only came from wanting Ashley's attention.

Initially, many viewers quite liked Ashley, empathizing with her struggles as a single mother and her two aggressive children. However, when her abuse of the children came to light, fans' perceptions of her began to change. This created somewhat of a rift among viewers: some turned on her and considered her an awful parent, while others believed that there had to be some reason (e.g. childhood abuse, similar to Jenniffer Bowsersock) that resulted in Ashley abusing her children. Furthermore, many heavily criticized Jo's failures to inform CPS about Ashley’s behavior and remove the children. However, others explain that Jo was simply not aware of Ashley's abuse or that the episode could have been filmed before Ashley began abusing the children. The abuse also led to speculation that Kaiden and Kayla's behavior stemmed from the abuse they had suffered. When Ashley's mother found out about the abuse and contacted CPS to remove Kaiden and Kayla, a handful praised her as a hero. People also found it bizarre that she abused Kayla and Kaiden, called Jo for help, and had another daughter, Veyah Mae. Viewers thought that calling Jo was a waste of both time and money.

In short, fans are truly split about this episode, and these opinions are certainly influenced by the extent of their knowledge about the abuse.

Trivia[]

  • This episode was the second instance where a child punches the camera, in this case Kaiden. The first was The Cooke Family.
  • Ashley was tied with Kristin from The Hallenbeck Family, Jenniffer from The Bowersock Family, Clarissa from The Esquivel Family, and Trisha from The Pollard-Morris Family for being the fourth-youngest parent on Supernanny at the time of filming, all at 25 years old. The third-youngest was a tie between Brandy from The Doyle Family, Shannon from The Kerns Family, and Bethany from The Garcia Family at 24 years old; the second-youngest was Anthony (also from The Garcia Family) at 23 years old; and the youngest parent overall was Samantha from The George Family at 20 years old.
  • This was the second episode to have a child already potty-trained wet themselves intentionally, in this case Kaiden. The first was Deanna from The Del Re Family.
  • During the One Strike and You're Out technique, Kaiden was sent to his bedroom. However, in multiple episodes, primarily in Season 1, Jo stated that she did not think placing a child in their bedroom for discipline is a good idea. Many believe that because multiple years had passed since she helped the families where she brought this up, she may have forgotten about the saying.
  • Had Jo found out about the abuse that Kaiden and Kayla had been suffering from, this family would have been the first (and only) time in Supernanny history where Jo contacted Child Protective Services (CPS) or DCFS, not counting the incident revolving the Spivey family in Jo Frost: Nanny On Tour.
  • This episode remained one of the few failed families; despite Jo's efforts to help the family, the subsequent CPS investigation, removal of the children, and Ashley's death all resulted in a broken family.
  • Kaiden revealed the reason why Ashley was a single mom; Ashley cheated on their father when he was in the army.
  • People have noted that when Kaiden shouted "I wish you guys were dead!", he predicted his mother's death. This is the second time a child predicted the death of their parents. The first was Hayden from The Bowersock Family, when he wrote a letter saying "Dear mom, Die", predicting Jennifer's death in 2025.
  • In general, this was the very last episode to have the old 2005-2009 opening sequence on Hulu Plus, as it would be fully retired starting with next season.

Pop Culture[]

  • Kayla wears Curious George pajamas.
  • In the submission reel, a Pluto plush and an Elmo doll can be seen in Kaiden's room.
  • In one scene, Kaiden hits Ashley with a toy lightsaber from Star Wars.
  • A Thomas the Train rug can be seen in Kaiden's room. Other Thomas & Friends toys are shown but were blurred due to copyright.
  • When reading a bedtime story, the book was Are You My Mother?
  • In the DVD meeting, the family was seen playing Wii Sports. Kayla was performing the arm motions for swinging a bowling ball, indicating that they were playing the bowling game. Ashley then threatened that Kaiden would never play the Wii again.

Gallery[]

External Links[]

Season 6
The Colier Family • The Simmons Family • The Phelps Family • The Naszkiewicz Family • The McGrath Family • The Beck Family • The Heredia Family • The Benton Family • The Hallenbeck Family • The Griswold Family • The Mann Family • The Johnson Family • The McKinney Family • 100th Episode Special
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