Another Super Nanny Blog and Crying

Super Nanny made me cry. Let me clarify. Watching the show Super Nanny made me cry. Jo didn't actually come to my house, insult me, and bring me to tears.

I don't typically cry when I watch Super Nanny. I watch the program because it makes me feel better about my parenting skills, or lack there of. I justify the fact that at least my family isn't on the show Super Nanny, and at least my children don't hit me in the face, and at least my children don't write "I hate you" in crayon on a white piece of paper. Trust me. My children have a whole different set of issues, just not those mentioned.

The show was featuring a couple who had 10 children. The oldest was a 15 year old boy who was forced into a parenting role and the youngest was 6 months old. The mother's dream was to have twelve children. That was it. She just had a dream. From what I could tell, it was more like she needed to feel needed, and was addicted to babies. She admitted that the children filled a void that she had from her own mother not giving her enough attention. Sad. Oh and Dad - he's an alchoholic, but getting the help that he needs.

The bigger children were completely responsible for taking care of the younger children and were worn out psychically and emotionally. Jo, noticing that the parents spent no alone time with the bigger children, had the family come up with a calendar, with days set aside for the mom to spend time with one child only and do something fun, and the dad to do the same.

This is the cry part: The fourteen year old daughter was really excited to get a pedicure and manicure with her mom because, the last time she did something with her mom was a year ago. That is horrible. The girl started crying.

I felt so sorry for the girl, and the other members of the family who do not get to spend time with their parents because there are too many children, and the parents are too overloaded.

I am so grateful for my brood and the time that we spend together. Okay, so admittedly, I complain when I just want to take a trip to Target by myself and I end up taking all of them with me, and it takes twice as long, but, I do appreciate the time that we spend together.

I need to be more aware of spending alone time with each of the kids also, as opposed to all of them at the same time. That's another thing that Super Nanny does for me. It makes me aware of the areas in my parenting that need fixing, and trust me, there are plenty of areas that need help.

Thanks Jo.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I watched part of it, but didn't get to find out what the dad's problem was. Drug use?
I saw the promo for this one and couldn't decide whether to watch it or not. Sounds so sad. I knew it was bad when Jo said, "I need a breavah."