Super Nannies

Tonight as I left work a colleague recommended a TV programme to me. "Supernanny. Of all the nanny programmes, that's the one that gives the best advice."

There has been a spate of these programmes: "Supernanny", "Little Angels", "Nanny 911"... all trying to help parents take back control of their children. They have heralded the entrance of an heroic parade of new arbiters in the world of parenting, telling us exactly how to bring harmony and smiles where previously there were tears and tantrums.

Watching these programmes I am always surprised by how easily parents cave in to their children's demands, thus undermining their own authority by failing to stick to their own rules. Worse still, in doing so they often undermine their partner by backtracking on their decisions, thus contributing to antipathy and discord between the adults. Of course I'll be falling into these traps myself at some point, I have no doubt. But it's frightening to see how some children can twist their parents around their fingers and play them off against each other.

Hayley spent several years working as a Nanny in the States and many of the techniques employed by Dr Tanya and Co. are strategies I know she has used herself. I'm glad to say we seem to agree on how to deal with the situations we see in the programmes which is probably half the battle. Without being complacent we feel we have made a good effort to think about what lies ahead and how we will handle it. Only time will tell whether this turns out to be well founded optimism or clueless naivety.