Supernanny’s Jo Frost Takes on Modern-Day Family Issues and Wants an End to Father Knows Best – Parade

Americas favorite fictional nanny is either Mary Poppins or Fran Fine (Fran Drescher), but when it comes to real life, hands down the woman you want giving you advice on child rearing is Jo Frost, aka the Supernanny.

Supernanny has been on hiatus for a bit here in the U.S., but now its back on Lifetime with 20 all-new episodes that employ Frosts 30 years of expertise to help with the issues facing modern-day families, using her time-honored wisdom.

I change my techniques according to what the child or the parent needs, or the family as a whole needs, but as a professional, I do not move with a trend or a fad, she tells Parade.com in this exclusive interview. You dont fix something thats not broken, you know?

Frosts methods are tried and true, and she uses them to help families that have so much information at their fingertips, that it often causes more problems than it solves.

A lot of parents are confused because theyre reading a lot, and they cant make up their mind on what theyre doing, Frost continues. With human behavior, you go back to what you know, you go back to what you trust, you go back to what worked, because you know it worked for you and your family. Ive been in families homes now for 15 years, sat down on their sofas, drank a cup of tea with them, sat and cried with them, laughed with them, and got real with them, you know? So, the makeup of who I am will never change, because Im an honorable, integral person, who is really passionate about the work that I do.

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One aspect of modern life that is different than when Frost first hit American shores is children having access to screens. Even though we are in the technology era, Frost insists the emphasis still should be on connecting with our families, which doesnt happen with too much screen time.

Technologys there to enhance our lives in so many ways, but if we abuse it and become addicted to it, then weve just created a whole heap of problems that not just myself, but many other parental professionals, psychologists, sociologists and psychiatrists predicted was going to happen 12 years ago.

And it isnt just theoretical for Frost. It is an issue she deals with in her life with her grandson, who loves to watch Dinotrux.

He gets a couple of episodes and then were out, she says. Were playing football, painting and drawing, and playing with his cars. We need to be able to find that balance.

Another new issue Frost is seeing is children being unnecessarily medicated. It is very easy to mislabel children, so parents should take on the responsibility of understanding how children should behave at specific ages before they rush to the doctor with a supposed ADHD child.

I think were pill happy, she says. I have very strong belief in bringing Western and Eastern medicine together. It doesnt have to be polarized. I dont want to underserve the importance of medication and how it serves us in the correct way, but I also want families to understand that we must embrace peace and stillness, and if we can bring Eastern and Western together, infuse it together, then I believe it will serve the family as a whole much better.

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One problem that Frost deals with this season that is an old one is the idea that father knows best. She still sees families where the mother says, Wait until your father gets home, and that is something she would like to see go by the wayside.

Id like to see mothers at home be more assertive, be unapologetic, give themselves permission, and to stand up for themselves as an equal parent, whether that is being a parent whos authoritative and needs to discipline and put healthy boundaries in, or to serve out the candy. Its important for both parents to equally hold that stance in their home, because it undermines the other parent [if they dont].

Supernanny airs Wednesday nights at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Lifetime.

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Supernanny's Jo Frost Takes on Modern-Day Family Issues and Wants an End to Father Knows Best - Parade

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