'Supernanny' Recap: 'Froebrich Family'
[Supernanny – Season 7 Episode 14]
Jo arrived in Fort Mill, South Carolina where we met the Froebrich family which consist of parents Beverly (38) and Erich (41), and their five children: Emily (11), Emmett (9), Emma Jo (7), Emerson (4), and Ember (1.5). I'm under the assumption that if they had a sixth kid, their name would also start with an E. Beverly's mother, Barbara, also temporarily moved in after Barbara's father passed away. We got a shot of the Froebrichs' submission video and there's chaos, fighting, pinching, and verbal abuse. The kids were spanked at first, but Erich pinches ears, spanks with spoons, and putting hot sauce in the children’s mouths. Emmett has issues with schoolwork. The parents begged for help and Jo arrived for observation.
Beverly and Erich met Jo and as always, the kids and family seemed nice while having lunch. Everyone was starting to act nice and Jo knew that everyone was on their best behavior. She asked the kids about discipline and they talked about spanking, hot sauce, and ear pinching in a very casual fashion. Emerson started to crack in front of the parents, kicking his mother. Erich put him in time out and they threatened him with hot sauce; Jo knew that he was acting differently. Emerson didn't apologize like normal, but his time out ended.
Jo talked to Barbara and she explained the chaos at the home; she's convinced that Beverly has control issues and could become snippy. Soon afterward, Beverly was being very aggressive about Emmett's homework. He started crying because she was yelling at him. She pushed him away in the room, so Jo went to talk to Emmett and he explained he became frustrated. Jo tried to talk to Beverly about losing parents; Beverly was concerned about losing control. Jo attributes it to losing her father and she instantly was in tears because she hasn't gotten to grieve and heal.
In the morning, Jo started her parent meeting. She noted that both needed to take control and have authority. They need to teach consequences. She asked the parents how they justify the spankings, pinching, and hot sauce. Erich replied that it was what "worked" for him; Jo pointed out how ineffective it was. She wanted to make sure that the parents knew what slippery road the smacking would do. Erich wants peace and would be proud if the discipline was better. As for homework, Beverly didn't listen to Emmett's issues. Jo pointed out Beverly's control habits. Beverly rattles a laundry list of things she controlled including her closets and silverware; Jo pointed out that her control issues were because of the heightened chaos in their lives and the loss of her father. Jo didn't think that there was enough grieving time. She suggested trying to be comfortable with their grandfather.
To make sure each member saw their consequences, Jo started teaching with a soapbox. She wanted the family to talk about what they needed to be better at doing. Emma Jo talked about her listening skills and not fighting, eventually each kid explained what they needed to do. Ember explained that fire was hot, which was amazingly fitting for her name. Then the parents took the soapbox and talked about what they needed to have. Emma Jo was excited when Erich admitted that there would be no more spankings.
Jo created the standard Time Out procedures. When Emerson started acting up, Beverly went through the motions. Emerson had a lot of issues, but both Beverly and Erich put him back in time out. Interestingly, the 4-year-old continued to fight even after his four minutes had finished. Eventually, Erich went through the hugs and kisses step.
The next day, Jo wanted to make sure how homework was being dealt with. She had a chart of Homework Tips. Emmett did his homework without a fuss, but Beverly tried to undermine the power of the calculator. Jo stopped Beverly and told her to stop the combat and just work together to have the math problem done correctly. Jo congratulated Beverly for doing a good job.
Beverly had a lesson with Jo about losing control. She explained to Jo several of her problems: laundry, the dishwasher, cleaning, table setting, and cooking among many of the particulars. Jo forced her to write a list of each task and Jo gave her an egg for each task, soon there were too many eggs for her to hold; she had to learn how to let go. Beverly was in tears, but Jo was there for support as a single egg broke. Soon she dropped all the eggs and let go of the problems. Jo had to create a chore list of something for the kids to do. It both taught Beverly to let go and the kids learn independence.
Jo had one final lesson. She brought the family out to the backyard and sat them all down. She introduced a treasure chest that would be filled with memories of grandpa. She gave the kids thought pads, and Emerson a pad to draw with. At night, Jo reassured the parents that they would do fine when she's gone.
A couple days passed and Jo met with the parents for evaluation. Beverly was tasked with letting go of her issues and the girls helped cook with her. As for sweeping, Emily had issues with sweeping. Jo pointed out that she shouldn't have hovered. In the category of homework, Beverly had an issue with his test. Jo pointed out that she had to change her ways; take a step back. Emerson acted up to his grandmother, but Erich did nothing. Jo scolded him. Barbara did the time out, but Emerson kind of cut steps. The family did successfully with the treasure box. Jo reminded the family to keep working on discipline.
During reinforcement time, Jo talked with Beverly about grief. Jo explained how she and her brother needed to talk to support each other. Jo gave her tickets to New York to visit her family. Beverly was in tears, but thankful. She got in a cab and left. Jo decided to teach Erich and Barbara about the steps of time out again. Barbara practiced her tone with Erich and she did a great job. They need to learn how to switch from anger to just reacting.
Jo had to leave the family, but they were all grateful for another successful job.