Supernanny

This article is about the original British series. For the American adaptation series, see Supernanny (American TV series).

Supernanny is a British reality television programme about parents struggling with their children's behaviour, mealtime, potty training, etc. The show features professional nanny Jo Frost, who devotes each episode to helping a family where the parents are struggling with child-rearing. Through instruction and observation, she shows parents alternative ways to discipline their children and regain order in their households. Frost is a proponent of the "naughty chair" theory of discipline and is strictly opposed to hitting and spanking.

Supernanny
Genre	Reality
Starring	Jo Frost
Narrated by	Nick Frost
Theme music composer	Moonshine Music
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	5
No. of episodes	29 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time	60 minutes (inc. adverts)
Production company	Ricochet South
Original release
Network	Channel 4
Release	7 July 2004 (2004-07-07) – 8 October 2008 (2008-10-08)
Related
Jo Frost: Extreme Parental Guidance Jo Frost: Family Matters It's Me or the Dog

The programme aired on Channel 4 from 7 July 2004 to 8 October 2008. A follow-up programme titled Jo Frost: Extreme Parental Guidance ran from 9 February 2010 to 5 August 2012. Supernanny has been adapted in other countries, including an American version (also with Jo Frost).

History

Supernanny was originally broadcast in the UK on Channel 4 on 7 July 2004, following the success of Channel 4's Cutting Edge programme "Bad Behaviour". Supernanny is one of Channel 4's most popular shows, reaching nearly 5 million viewers in the first series, with consistently high ratings throughout the series.

The premiere episode for the third series attracted 3.1 million viewers with a 14% audience share. These values are half of those from the previous two series.^[1]

Reception

In their book Handbook of Psychological Assessment, Case Conceptualization, and Treatment, Children and Adolescents, Michel Hersen and David Reitman state, "With considerable skill, Super Nanny Jo Frost implements standard, evidence-based contingency management procedures, as well as heavy evidence of creating alternative positive activity structures."^[2] The show has had its critics, and not all child-care experts agree with her approach.^[3][4] Some people find that the children's right to privacy has been violated^[5] and that children are embarrassed when put on the "naughty step".^[6] Newcastle University media and cultural-studies lecturer Tracey Jensen believes that the format results in the mother being "shamed before she is transformed".^[5]

The show, viewed by six million people in its first year, was an "instant success." Shows were created in 48 countries by 2014 that were tailored after Supernanny.^[3][4]

Home media

A DVD release of Supernanny entitled When Little Kids Cause Big Headaches was released in the UK on 12 April 2010.^[7]

Episodes

Main article: List of Supernanny episodes

Supernanny series overview^[8][9]

Series	Episodes		Originally aired
			First aired	Last aired
1	3		7 July 2004 (2004-07-07)	21 July 2004 (2004-07-21)
2	12		5 April 2005 (2005-04-05)	5 October 2005 (2005-10-05)
3	6		29 August 2006 (2006-08-29)	3 October 2006 (2006-10-03)
4	5		29 August 2007 (2007-08-29)	26 September 2007 (2007-09-26)
5	3		24 September 2008 (2008-09-24)	8 October 2008 (2008-10-08)

International versions

Supernanny has been broadcast or slightly adapted in other countries.

Country	Title	Network(s)	Other networks
Australia	Supernanny	Nine Network (2004–2013) GEM (2011–2013)	Lifestyle Home (2011–2013)
Belgium	Supernanny	vtm	No other foreign networks applicable
Brazil	Supernanny	SBT
Croatia	Superdadilja	RTL (2006-????)
Czech Republic	Superchůva k pohledání Chůva v akci	Prima televize
China	超级育儿师	Anhui Satellite Channel
Finland	Supernanny Suomi	MTV3
France	Super Nanny Les Nannies	M6 TFX TF1
Germany	Die Super Nanny (2004-2011) Mission Familie (2014)	RTL Television Sat.1
Indonesia	Supernanny	MetroTV (Sunday noon)
Israel	Supernanny	Channel 2
Italy	SOS Tata (2005–2012) Supernanny (2021)	La7, Fox Life NOVE, Discovery+, RealTime
Lithuania	Super Auklė	TV1
Malaysia	Supernanny	NTV7
Netherlands	Eerste Hulp Bij Opvoeden	RTL 4
Poland	Superniania	TVN
Portugal	Supernanny	SIC
Romania	Supernanny	Prima TV
Russia	Суперняня	REN TV
Singapore	Supernanny	MediaCorp Okto
Slovakia	Pestúnka	TV Markíza
Spain	Supernanny S.O.S. Adolescentes	Cuatro	TV3 ETB 1
Sweden	Supernanny Sverige	TV3
United States	Supernanny	ABC (2005–2011) Lifetime (2020)	Nine Network Channel 4, E4 W Network, Twist TV TV Markíza, Markíza Doma TLC  United States Up TV

References

1. Deans, Jason (30 August 2006). "'Mrs O' sees off Richard and Judy". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
2. Michel Hersen; David Reitman (13 May 2008). Handbook of Psychological Assessment, Case Conceptualization, and Treatment, Children and Adolescents. John Wiley & Sons. p. 333. ISBN 978-0-470-17357-2.
3. Sean Macaulay (28 January 2010). "Jo Frost interview: How a nanny from South London went on to become an Oprah-approved, world famous, multimillionaire childcare phenomenon". The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group Limited. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
4. Gordon, Byrony (13 September 2014). "Jo Frost interview: The day Supernanny came to tea". The Daily Telegraph. UK. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
5. Campbell, Alex (3 May 2013). "Six childcare gurus who have changed parenting". BBC News. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
6. Duerden, Nick (8 September 2007). "Jo Frost: Nanny state". The Independent. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
7. "Supernanny [DVD]". amazon.co.uk. 12 April 2010. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
8. "Supernanny (UK)". Channel 4. Archived from the original on 15 September 2012.
9. "Supernanny (UK)". Supernanny.co.uk.

External links

• Supernanny at IMDb