The Pollard-Morris Family is the sixth episode of Series 3 of the British Supernanny and is the 21st episode of the (U.K.) Supernanny show.
Sypnopsis[]
"Three year old Matthew is spreading misery throughout the Pollard-Morris home. But when Supernanny Jo Frost arrives, she makes an unexpected diagnosis. She sees mum's tendency to mollycoddle Matthew as a key factor in the unhappy toddler's problem behaviour. But can mum Trisha find the strength to resist her instinct to baby the children?" - supernanny.co.uk
Full Sypnopsis[]
Submission:
Trisha Pollard is a proud Surrey Mother of her four kids. Luke twelve and James eight are her kids from a previous marriage. Now, she has met Darren, a handyman and has two more kids: Matthew three and 1 1/2 year old Francisca. Matthew's constant tantrums have caused a rift between the step-family. He's violent, destructive, and won't listen when told to not do something. Darren even thinks of him as not the son he wants to have. His behavior has gotten so bad that even the idea of Trisha leaving or her removing his beloved dummy can trigger a full-on temper tantrums, as a result of Trisha giving in to him and his nearly toddler sister. This means both are treated like babies at all times. Things have gotten so bad that he barely talks and behaves more like a baby than Francisca.
Matthew isn't the only problem child. Middle son, James, is desperate for the attention his brother gets. He shows this by tormenting him. He hits, shoves, and bullies him at any moment he can. He even wishes he could beat Matthew up. James himself is rarely disciplined for his behavior, the same as his brother. They fight constantly and James makes it his mission to make his younger brother cry even more than he is. Trisha refuses to discipline because they know how to manipulate her with an apologie and a cuddle. Once Darren returns, he wishes he could leave again, which he usually does. By far, the worst event that occurs in the family is mealtimes. Matthew throws his food, Francisca refuses to eat, and James fights with his brother. At this point, Trisha has given up.
Observation:
Jo meets the family as they play outside. Right away, Matthew kicks off when James and Luke decide they want to play with water pistols. When he sees this, he complains to his Mom who asks him to share. Because of this, she gets hit and she watches her son knock chairs over. Even though Trisha threatens to put him to bed, she doesn't follow through. In the end, Luke is forced to give his up so Matthew can get what he wants. When James squirts him with a pistol, he goes crying to his Mom who reminds him that it's part of the game. Soon after James gives his to Luke, it's Matthew's turn to give his up. Instead, he throws it across the yard. Darren overhears and heads out to lecture him but he doesn't make him do any sort of consequence. Tired of his brother getting away with everything, James tries to hurt him as he shoves past him when he goes down the slide. That way, when he falls, he will fall headfirst onto the grass. Trisha tells him off but he doesn't care. When he goes down the slide, James hits Matthew on the head repetitly. Trisha reveals to Jo that they can't stand each other. To dig deeper, Jo pulls James aside. She finds out he picks on him and pulls mean pranks on him because he feels that Matthew should be dealt with. He's so tired of his parents not doing anything that he decides that if no one else in the family can stand up to him, then he will. It's there she finds out the boys do in fact despise each other.
Once Darren leaves for work, Trisha deals with lunch time by herself. Matthew refuses to eat and rocks the table back and forth. She tells him he'll be in big trouble with his Dad when he returns from work. She also threatens that he won't get sweets. Even though she does at first stay true to the no sweets rule, after he throws a tantrum that makes her shout at him, she gives in and gives him not only sweets but also his dummy's. When outside, Matthew still isn't amused as he lets his ice cream melt. James questions why he's so sad and Trisha tells him he's always miserable while encouraging him to eat his ice-cream. Jo realizes the family focuses on the negative things about him. When Darren returns for dinner, hardly anyone has any conversations. When James demands pop, he and Trisha get in a brief argument. In the end, he doesn't get punished and not only gets his pop but he and Matthew, who also didn't finish his food, get more ice-cream.
Parent Meeting:
Trisha and Darren hear hard truths when Jo discusses the way that they treat Matthew when he throws fits.
Teaching[]
Jo returns and introduces a red bench called the Naughty Bench to James (8 minutes), and Matthew (3 minutes). After that, she encourages them to play with cars together. When Jo tells them to put the cars in the center, the younger of the latter refuses to put his toys in the middle. He throws one across the yard and tries to walk away expecting to get away with it. He continues throwing toys in realization that no one is responding to his play up. Trisha gives him a warning with Jo's help. Matthew proceeds to misbehaving, leading him to the Naughty Bench for 3 minutes. Jo and Trisha drag him inside He tries to give his Mom cuddles but Trisha moves him away. Trisha has to reminded several times not to scream and shout at him. After hearing his Mom follow through with getting him on the bench, Matthew is left confused. As a result, he leaves the bench and tries to follow her out. Jo teaches her how to encourage him to sit there without saying a word. He continues his bad behavior for half an hour. He eventually apologizes and is allowed back to eat his dinner.
Afterwards, Supernanny starts taking away Matthew and Francesca's pacifiers for daytime use, in weaning them off of their dummies. Since Francesca is still so young, she communicates her annoyance by screaming. However, Trisha praises her for trying to be a big girl. She compensates by distracting Matthew and Francesca with toys. Later that evening, the youngest childrens' dummies were returned, and Francesca is happy to go to bed with her sippy cup. However, there's another stage of Jo's technique for Matthew. He is given a big boy cup causing him to resist his glass of milk before bedtime. But he didn't go to bed upset as he sucks on his pacifier for the last time.
The next day, Supernanny talks to Luke and James about the lack of attention they receive. They jot down notes which will be shared later. The parents then announced to Matthew and Francesca that the Binky Fairies needed to take their pacifiers, as part of the next stage in weaning them off of their dummies. The younger children were so wrapped up in the story, they happily slept without the dummies. The following morning, Matthew and Francesca went to the tree and got their presents in exchange for their pacifiers. Luke and James then present their concerns to Daren and Trisha. The next morning, Matthew gets in trouble for hitting his Mom. Instead of shouting, Trisha follows through with her warning and gets him on the bench. Trisha distracts herself by having fun with Francesca and Matthew notices what he's messing out on so he stops his tantrum, calms down, and sits on the naughty bench for his full three minutes. He even apologizes for his behavior straight away.
Jo has fun with the family as they play Jenga. However, Matthew gets flustered for an unknown reason. When asked why he was upset, he reveals it was because of James annoying him. After seeing the way the two interacted during the game, Jo pulls them aside and they play with blocks together. James takes on the role of responsible older brother and teaches him how to make a ship. When he tries to do too much, Jo asks him to let Matthew help so it doesn't lead to a tantrum. By the end, James has changed his perspective on his younger brother thinking he was actually a happy kid who wasn't so miserable and horrible all the time. Francesca was later invited to the main dining room with the help of a booster seat. James had a minor play up, but a stern warning did the trick. Supernanny then leaves the family to perform the test run.
Family Test Run[]
The test run starts off good, with Matthew and Francesca continuing to deal with bedtimes without dummies. But 2 days after Supernanny had left, Matthew kicks off again and hurts Daren with small knives and forks. Daren tells off Matthew and confiscates the knives and forks, which makes him begin crying. Daren gives Matthew a warning for crying and leaves Trisha to put him on the Naughty Bench for 3 minutes when he continues whining. Matthew spends his time on the bench, but throws shoes everywhere on the floor. Trisha gets a sorry from Matthew and cleans up the mess up. Later, Trisha decides to go out of the house, but Matthew wants her to stay. Trisha calls Daren to discipline Matthew and after she leaves, Matthew screams and tells his father to go away. Matthew continues screaming and disturbs one of the boys. Daren calms down Matthew and gives him a hug. As the week without Supernanny continues, Matthew wanders out of the house. Trisha, who is on the phone, gives Matthew a warning, and immediately takes him to the Naughty Bench. Matthew stays on the bench again, but he screams at the top of his lungs. 3 minutes later, Trisha gets a screaming apology from Matthew. At the end of the week, Matthew refuses to clean up his toys and Trisha puts his pajamas on him. Before she finishes, Trisha becomes fed up with Matthew.
Reinforcements and Follow-up[]
Trisha was re-taught how to follow through with disciplining Matthew, and teaching Matthew how to give a proper apology without screaming. Even though he stays there for fifteen minutes, he is able to apologize effectively in the end. Matthew was then taught how to pick up the shoes he threw after his time-out. Afterwards, Trisha goes on another outing leaving Darren in charge again. This time, instead of punishing him for getting upset, Darren takes a second to distract him with his blocks. Later on, Jo checks in with the step-kids and comes up with an idea of a family bike ride to bring him closer to all three boys. Luke, James, Matthew, and Daren went on a bike ride as a way of bonding. With that, Jo says her goodbyes to the family.
One month has passed since and the family is more than happy. Matthew isn't as miserable and is setting a better example for his baby sister. His calm persona means he can easily get along with James. The boys have enjoyed games of footballs and Legos without fighting. The parents no longer have to referee. Instead, the whole family joins in. The family can laugh together and be the happy blended family they always dreamed of.
Family Members[]
| Person | Age (2006) | Age (2025) | Relation to Family |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daren Morris | 31 (born 31 August 1974) | 51 | Father to Matthew and Francesca/Stepfather to Luke and James |
| Patricia "Trisha" Pollard | 34 (born 1 January 1972) | 53 | Mother |
| Luke Pollard | 12 (born 21 January 1994) | 31 | Son (Maternal) |
| James Pollard | 8 (born 8 February 1998) | 27 | |
| Matthew Morris | 3 (born 18 September 2002) | 23 | Son |
| Francesca Morris | 1½ (born 11 November 2004) | 21 | Daughter |
| The child was disciplined via one of Jo Frost's techniques. |
| The child was not disciplined via one of Jo Frost's techniques, but was warned that he would be, should he repeat a disliked behavior. |
Pop Culture[]
- When Jo arrives James can be seen with a can of Fanta. Luke is also seen holding a can of Dr Pepper.
- Matthew has a Barney toy in his room.
- A plush of Gloria from Madagascar can be seen on Matthew's bed.
- Matthew can be seen playing with Thomas the Tank Engine toys.
- In the intro, Matthew was playing on a PlayStation 2 before James turned off his TV.
- Matthew has Manchester United F.C. Pyjamas, and Luke had an England T-shirt for both rugby and football.
- Matthew has a Star Wars poster in his room.
- When Jo is talking to Luke and James, a Doctor Who book is seen by their bed.
- A Game Boy Color could be seen when Matthew fights his mother in his room.
- A Dora the Explorer birthday card could be seen in the living room.
- Matthew has a Spider-Man bedding in his room.
- When Trisha tried to wean Matthew and Francisca off their dummies, several toys including a Spider-Man one and Lego Duplo blocks can be seen.
- When James threatens to break Matthew's neck, a little tykes slide can be seen.
- There was a BBCi game for CBeebies on the TV, when Matthew gets upset over his mum leaving the house.
- Francisca appears to have a Snow White chair
- Legos can also be seen in the ending family update.
Fan Reception[]
This episode received with mixed to negative reception. Many disliked Matthew's relentless crying and tantrums, though many understand his behavior due to his age. Some people also often consider him to be one of the most annoying children to appear on Supernanny. Trisha and Daren were also not well liked due to telling Matthew off simply for being sad, and Trisha calling Matthew a "git" over the phone when he wandered out of the house during the Family Test Run, and for Daren's abusive behavior towards James in the Beyond the Naughty Step segment. In addition, fans sympathized with Luke and Francisca. Whilst James did attack Matthew on several occasions, fans understood that he was annoyed with his whining.
Trivia[]
- Daren put Matthew in timeout for crying, similar to what Shannon did with Brandon in The Kerns Family.
- Although in the latter's case, Jo approved of the timeout.
- When Daren disciplines Matthew for attempting to stab him, his crying/screaming strangely sounds similar to Richard Rabbit's from Peppa Pig.
- In 2025, Daren is 51, Trisha is 53, Luke is 31, James is 27, Matthew is 23, and Francesca is 21.
Gallery[]
Behind The Scenes[]
- This episode was filmed in June/July 2006
External Links[]
| Series 3 |
|---|
| The Hillhouse-Docherty Family • The Howat Family • The Brown-Smith Family • The Bates Family • The Williams Family • The Pollard-Morris Family |