It seems more and more common in some countries for parents to find bringing up their children a highly stressful experience.  Hence the popularity of the reality TV show, Supernanny.

Before you read the following review, check some useful vocabulary.

Read this review of the programme Supernanny and see how many of these points are included.

A review of Supernanny

I don’t usually like reality TV shows but I’m completely hooked on the programme Supernanny.  It’s an excellent show which basically films a family who are having problems dealing with their naughty children.

At the start of the show Supernanny turns up at the family home and observes the daily routine.  The parents are usual worn out by their children’s bad behaviour and don’t know how to discipline them. The children throw tantrums, talk back to their parents, don’t do what they told and don’t show them any respect.

Then Supernanny talks to the parents about the situation and suggests changes they should make to help them sort out the problems and bring up their children better. It must be hard to tell two adults that they aren’t doing things right but she is always completely honest with them.

She then spends time helping the parents to put her ideas into practice.  She’s firm but friendly and doesn’t put up with any bad behaviour. She doesn’t believe in smacking children, instead she sends them to the ‘naughty step’ or the ‘naughty corner’ if they behave badly and gets them to think about their behaviour.

Then the family continue without her help for a week while she watches the result from a TV monitor.  Things usually start off well but sometimes get chaotic again after a day or two.  Finally, she goes back to visit the family, talks to them about the results and gives them some more advice. The parents and children always hug her and thank her for helping them in the end.

It’s entertaining to see how badly-behaved the children are at first and how a few simple rules help to transform the situation.  I’d recommend the show to anyone with young children because I think there is some useful advice for parents about how to bring up their own children.

At the same time, I must admit that the format is a bit repetitive. I’ve never seen a family where her plan didn’t work but then these are all families with young children and none of the problems are very serious. The other thing is that Supernanny doesn’t have any children of her own. I sometimes wonder if she’ll find it easy to apply her rules the day she has a family.

Look at the phrasal verbs highlighted in the review.  Check you understand them here.

Think about it Do you ever watch reality shows? How many reality TV shows can you name? If you watch them, what do you like about them?  If you don't, why not?