05x13 - The Costello Family

[bunniefuu]

Tonight on "supernanny,"

Jo visits her biggest family ever.

The costello family has ten kids.

This is a very large family, to say the least.

[Screaming] now even more may be on the way.

I'm--i'm happy with ten.

Well, why should, you know...

That's his opinion.

I'm allowed to mine. I don't agree with it.

The oldest son is forced to act as a third parent,

And the pressure is k*lling him.

It's too much. I've gotten sick over it.

You feel ill? I've--i've had one panic att*ck before.

Plus, mom has a hard time keeping her cool.

[Mom] you stop it! We're not--i'm not doing anything.

Yeah.you stop it from happening!

You're the oldest one out there.

You don't just sit there and watch it!

When jo learns dad has a dark secret,

It changes everything.

Can jo help them recover?

If dale don't want this enough,

Well, then everyone's gonna pay the price for that.

Or will the biggest family jo has ever helped

Be too much for her to handle?

Oh, you know what? Right now I need to take a breather.

♪♪♪

♪♪♪

♪♪♪

This week, you're with me in medina, ohio,

So let's take a look at this family.

Hi, we're the costello family.

I'm amy. And I'm dale.

And we have ten kids...

Logan is , carley is ,

Chaslyn, who is , joelle, who is ... [Record scratches]

Mnh-mnh. . .

Corban, who, eh, --uh... .

And corban is .

Addison, who is ... Nolan, ...

Bryson, ... Cameron, ...

And keaton, who is months.

My word! Ten kids.

One more, and that's a football team.

[Yelling]

[Crying]

Which one are you gonna do? I don't want to.

My dream in growing up was I always wanted kids,

To live in a home with a white picket fence,

And for the most part,

I filled the majority of my dream.

Did you hear that? [Laughs] cameron, come on.

I drive truck over the road, and I might take off on a run.

I'm gone for at least three days, maybe four.

I could wind up being gone for a week. Yeah.

It just depends. We never know.

That's enough. Now quit it.

When dale's home, it's harder in some ways,

Because when he's home,

It totally throws the routine off for me.

Come on. Come on.

Stop it. No.

[Amy] maybe there's more chaos

When he's here even alone with the kids.

Fall!

Him not listen. Out of my face. Hey, quit pushing.

The difference

Between parenting one and parenting ten

Is the first one gets all of your attention. Love you.

When you have ten,

You're stretched a whole lot more.

Chaslyn, get down here now!

Who else was doing it?

It's wild. It's-- it's like a -ring circus.

Enough. [Screaming]

Bryse, that'll be enough.

Give it to him. Stop.

No, you didn't. Oh, my gosh, dad.

Hey, hey, hey.

And every day, I feel like I get to the breaking point.

Everybody's got to chip in and help.

These kids need a little bit more direction.

Um, probably you.

We do put faith in the older kids

To help out with the younger kids.

Carley, pick up! Come on down the side.

Mom, there is none down the side. You open your eyeballs.

Carley--she does not like to help out around the house.

She does not like to lend a hand.

[Amy] you got to keep an eye on him. I know, mom.

[Amy] she's a very quiet, reserved person

And a lot of times, reacts very negatively

To having to watch her brothers and sisters.

[Kids screaming]

Her eyes say it all.

Can I go lay him on your bed? Um, you can.

Get your shoes on.

Logan is the oldest,

So he carries a very difficult role in the family,

Because when dale's gone,

He has to be a fill-in for me and be my biggest helper.

Get down. Well, then you ask for help.

Look at this -year-old. Look.

He's acting like a dad.

Put your shoes on or-- corban, let go of him.

Nolan, let go!

I'll clean a bathroom if you clean a bathroom.

It's hard for him to take on a big responsibility

And act more like an adult,

Because he--he wants to have his own space.

When he has to watch the younger kids,

And he kind of sighs.

Why can't a teenager be a teenager?

[Growling, laughing]

Supernanny, we could really use you in our household.

What's supposed to be on it?

We'd just like some order.

[Crying]

Supernanny, please hurry.

We have ten kids, and we really need your help.

[Sighs] well, enough is enough.

Hang on in there, mom and dad, and hey, kids, I'm on my way.

♪♪♪

Well, hi there. Hello.

How are you doing? Hi. Pleased to meet you.

I'm dale. Come on in. Hi. Thank you.

[Dale] that's my wife amy. Hello.

Hi. Amy. Good to meet you. Hi. Hi. Amy. Hi.

[Jo] this is the biggest family that I've ever helped,

And, oh, yeah, it's going to be an adventure.

This is a very large family, to say the least.

[Amy] to have jo come into my house and observe us,

It was a little bit unnerving,

Because of course, nobody ever wants criticism,

So, you know, we all think we're perfect.

You don't need to hit, chaslyn.

Nolan, just get away from her.

Stop. Quit it. [Whines]

Now...

[Jo] typically, dad being a truck driver

Means that he's only home a few days a week.

But from what I can see, when he is home,

He's not very supportive. He doesn't do much.

[Dale] guys, will you stop that?

I think the kids have lost some respect in listening to him

Or obeying him when he's home.

[Whines] would you-- go stand in a corner.

No. Yes.

I don't think he knows how to handle the kids,

And, I mean, they don't listen to him as much as my mom.

Then my dad leaves somewhere--

Like, not the house, but he's always somewhere else

Like outside in the garage.

It seems to me that mom's just given up

Asking dad to help out with the kids.

Why don't you feel like you can put this one down

And take him over there?

Um, because it ends up with a fight in there

Between like he and bryson or whatever. Right.

So I'll end up just taking him back anyways.

Well--well, why can't dale deal with it?

He--he--i-i--sometimes I just don't think he--

I just don't think he does deal with it.

[Jo] but there is another family member

That she relies on to help her.

I saw that logan was given the task

To look after the kids with mom.

I mean, he is mr. Mom.

We're gonna be gone for a little bit.

Logan is in charge.

In submission,

I had seen that logan helps out a lot with the kids,

So what I did was send mom and dad out,

So I could see exactly how logan manages those kids.

Cameron, no, you cannot have the bubbles.

No. You'll spill these. [Screaming]

Sparkle power. Ow! Don't!

And he gets kind of frustrated when the kids are misbehaving

When mom and dad are out.

Get out of the office.

And I don't really enjoy

Watching over that many kids at one time.

It's just too stressful. It's too chaotic.

Corban. Corban. Chaslyn and--

Get out. Don't you want to do anything?

Corban. Corban, stop. You tried to b*at me up.

"Stop." How about you try?

Corban, just--just go. Why don't you go upstairs? You would.

[Jo] by the time mom and dad got back,

Logan was absolutely numb

From having to take care of those kids.

He's stressed out.

I was really eager to talk to logan,

And so I had a conversation with him

That really spoke volumes.

You're--you're like a--like a manny--a nanny.yeah.

Okay, so--so when does logan

Get to, uh, hang out with his buddies and just chill?

Not very often. Really?

This year old doesn't get a chance

To be a year old and hang out with his friends,

So he is robbed of his teenage years at the moment.

He's got to be raising his siblings.

You feel like it's your responsibility?

No. I mean, they're not my kids.

I mean, they're my brothers, but they're notmy kids.

It's I'm--i'm not the-- I'm not a parent.

It's not my responsibility to discipline them,

To be watching them. Do you actually say to them,

Or do you feel like you can't or-- to my parents?

Yeah.i-i don't--i don't-- I don't think

I feel like I can say that.

I mean, it's kind of like

I've kind of stepped it in there a little bit,

And my mom just kind of blows at me,

Just kind of--i mean, she really gets mad,

Like, you know, "it's your responsibility as the oldest."

It's too much, sometimes to the point

Where it's like...

Uh, you know, I've gotten sick over it.

What do you live with-- migraines, panic att*cks.

I mean, what do you-- do you feel ill?

I've had one panic att*ck before, yeah.

[Jo] for a -year-old child to have this

Because the burden of the responsibility

They're given at such a young age,

To--to me, is--is just not right.

[Logan] I do have thoughts,

Like, I've got to find somewhere else to go, you know?

I'm--i'm out of here,

'Cause I shouldn't be living a life like this.

Coming up on "supernanny,"

Things go wrong and mom blames the kids...

See? There they stand. Someone just got hurt.

And jo has harsh words for both parents.

Right now you're in cuckoo land, the pair of you.

When "supernanny" returns.

So do all the kids play outside? [Amy] yes.

And--and who takes care of them outside?

Usually the older kids

Are supposed to keep an eye on the younger kids.right.

I went out to have a look. [Kids speaking indistinctly]

No! Would you like any more?

The kids were just roughhousing,

But when mom saw what was going on,

She just flew off the handle with carley.

[Amy] you stop it. We're not-- I'm not doing anything.

Yeah.you stop it from happening!

You're the oldest one out there.

You don't just sit there and watch it!

[Jo] these parents

Are not taking on their responsibilities.

Instead, they're allowing their teenage kids

To take on the responsibilities that they should be doing.

Me being is hard,

Because I have so much responsibility,

Like, with the kids.

No, you don't want to help.

No, you're not going back outside. You chose to come in.

A while later, carley and chaslyn

Wanted to go outside, but mom was having none of it.

[Amy] they can't help outside. They can't help inside.

That's what they do is what they want to do.

But you're feeling what? What you feeling?

Well, I mean, I get mad at them,

Because they're the, you know,

Second oldest, third oldest. You expect them

To look after the kids outside, and they've not done that,

And inside, and they're not doing that either.

Right, and they can't do this either.

Yeah. They can't do--

[Baby crying] see? There they stand. Someone just got hurt.

Oh, you know what? Right now I need to take a breather.

I think in the first time in doing this "supernanny" show,

I-i bit my tongue, and I had to walk out.

I was angry.

I was angry.

I was very angry.

This mother has ten kids.

It's her responsibility

To make sure that her children are safe.

How can she have a go at these children

For not babysitting the kids

When they're kids themselves?

So I actually sneaked upstairs to speak to carley and chaslyn

To find out exactly what had happened.

What mom had to say, what do you feel about that?

It's--i'm really angry,

'Cause i-i-i do help out with her,

And I do watch the kids when I'm out there.

My mom doesn't know, like, half of the things

That's going on around here.

Carley's very upset, and she's angry,

Because I don't feel that these children feel

They can say what they really do feel.

If she knew how you felt,

Do you think that she would give you time of day

Just to be able to reach out and give you a hug, huh?yeah.

Hmm?

Look, the fact is mom and dad chose to have ten kids.

But the older ones are paying the price for that,

Because they're neglecting them.

If mom and dad don't start talking to these kids,

Then they're gonna start moving

Further and further away from them

At a crucial time in their life.

For most of the day,

Dad wasn't involved with the kids.

But then corban started to irritate him,

And we saw a different side of dad.

[Dale] what are you writing, corban?

What are you writing, corban? [Speaking indistinctly]

You can throw it away. Throw it away.

No. You. It's your note.

Throw it away. Throw it away. Corban.

It's your note.corban, throw it away.

It's her note!throw it away now!

It's her note!throw it away now!

It's her note.throw it away now.

Fine. Dad, I didn't do it. I mean, it's not mine.throw it away now.

Dad had hardly grumbled all day,

And then all of a sudden, dad flew off the handle.

I mean, it--it's very unsettling.

Later on in the day, I did have a chance to talk to mom

About the obvious-- family planning.

It's unbelievable to me

That this lady still wants more kids to make ,

When she's seriously struggling

With the ten that she has already.

It's crazy!

You have this dream of wanting kids? I do. I--yeah.

You're at ten now.

So are you gonna go for the other two?

You know, I would like to.yeah.

But you know, I think that's--

Dale and I are at different stages.

Dale just had his th birthday,

And I think he's just realizing, you know,

"I'm . I'm getting older."

So I think we haven't-- he and I haven't come

To the agreement with that yet.yeah.

So you're having safe sex then right now? No. No.

Oh, right. Okay. So you could--

You could end up coming--

Yeah. My thought is, you know--

You could have another one then.

If it happens, it happens.

[Jo] these parents are not resolving this conversation,

And at the same time, they are sexually active,

And they're not being responsible.

What happens?

The inevitable. Then what?

I'm off for the evening. Okay.

But I'll see you tomorrow morning sharp. Okay.

And we'll have a good family meeting.

Night-night, sweetie. Oh, look at him.

He's absolutely knackered.

I'm eager to come back tomorrow,

Because these parents are gonna get a stiff talking-to.

There are some serious issues here.

♪♪♪

[Jo] after all I've seen yesterday,

I need to get straight to the point.

Let's talk about logan.

He's years old.

He can't even be a kid.

He can't even hang out with his friends as a year old,

Because he's too busy playing dad

Around the house.

"Logan, do this. Logan, do that.

Logan, take the children."

The boy has had a panic att*ck. Ever had one of them?

No? No.

The first thing you think when you have one

Is that you're dying.

Is that fair? No.

Right now you're in cuckoo land, the pair of you.

You're in cuckoo land.

You know, carley really needs to be able to talk to you.

She needs--she needs to be able to look up to you.

What do you want her to take from you?

I would hope carley would be able to say, you know,

"My mother inspired me, because she understood me,

"Because she lifted me up,

Because..." Do you honestly think she can say that right now?

I-i don't think right now she could say that. Ah.

[Inhales deeply] but you know what?

If we were to be really truthful,

You probably didn't have a mom

That said that with you, did you? Mnh-mnh.

So as a mother,

Why don't you take what you didn't have

And give that to your daughters so that they can have.

Mm-hmm.

So that your daughter doesn't have to grow up

And have loads of babies to get the same needs met,

Right?

Mm-hmm.

What are we gonna do? Gonna make a big change.

Just let our kids be kids.

Just let them have fun.

If what I've had to say today

Has touched a raw nerve,

Then I know I'm talking to two parents who've got feeling.

And that's a good thing,

'Cause that means we can work on all of that.

Okay. Thank you.

Coming up on "supernanny,"

Mom and dad discuss a delicate subject.

I can always have my dream. I'm allowed. Don't pop it.

And later, the family reveals

An earth-shattering secret to jo.

We have to speak up one other issue, too,

That's been a huge source on contention,

And I think dale knows what I'm getting at.

When "supernanny" returns.

[Jo] the first thing I do need to do is to sit down

And have a frank conversation with mom and dad

About family planning,

Because it's obvious they're not talking.

We brought up in the meeting the importance

Of becoming more consciously aware of your family planning,

And I do think that's something that needs to be spoken about

And something that needs to be resolved.

It was nice to have somebody, like, a third party--

Kind of like a mediator.

I'm--i'm happy with ten.

Okay, I do feel like I can't--you know,

Take care of them like I should

Or tend as much attention as--as I should.

[Amy] I just always wanted a large family.

I always wanted a dozen. I love kids.

It is hard for me to hear dale say, um, enough is enough.

I understand your view.

I--you know, my dream was my dream,

And I'm not--you're not gonna take it away.

Well, it's not-- it's not--

[Jo] it's painfully obvious that mom wants

To fulfill her dream of having a dozen kids,

And she doesn't care how she gets number

Or what has to be sacrificed,

As long as she gets number .

You've said that your dream was your dream

And nothing's gonna stop you.

That just means you can't take away my dream.

I can always have my dream.

Whether or not it's fulfilled or not,

I can always have my dream. I'm allowed. Don't pop it.

I'm--i'm not. I-- he's not. You're taking it personally.

Well, why should--you know, that's his opinion.

I'm allowed to mine. I don't agree with it.

But everybody has dreams,

But you got to be realistic with some of those dreams

As well, okay? And I'm saying, you know, we're willing to make changes,

Or at least, I'm willing to make changes for that,

And if I have to carry more of a burden,

Then I'm willing to do that.

It's just not you carrying it, though.

Your kid's always gonna carry it.

And you have to be able to resolve that.

You have to, otherwise, it's irresponsible.

[Jo] it's obvious that they both want different things,

But what I feel is very important

Is that they're actually talking now, and that's a good thing.

I haven't really seen dad interact with the children,

And I know mom doesn't fully trust dad

To handle the children,

So it was important for me to let mom go out,

So that she could see dad is capable

Of looking after the kids just for that short period of time.

That one belongs to you, logan.

Um, the green one I've got here belongs to yourself, carley.

But there is one catch.

I've given the four elder children t-shirts to wear

That say "off duty,"

So dad can't rely on them.

Bye!

As dad found out,

Looking after ten kids on your own is more than a handful.

[Crying] [dale] hang on. Go play with your brother.

I'm gonna warm up lunch. Come on. [Crying]

[Crying] come here.

[Crying] no. You-- well, here. Color.

[Choking] [crying]

Nolan, get in here, buddy.

Nolan.

He's off duty. Okay.

Stop! Ow!

Nolan, get in here right now.

What are you getting into?

Hey.[Whines]

[Jo] you know, dad did handle the kids with confidence,

And he did a-- he did an okay job.

But now I'm even more puzzled

At why mom really deep down

Doesn't trust dad with the kids.

[Dale] and who is that?

There she is.

Pretty good. [Crying]

Now that dad's found this new confidence with the kids,

What I want to be able to do is set up a technique

So that the children realize

That the parents appreciate them getting this quality time.

What I want to do with this calendar

Is basically to jot down with the kids

A particular event on a particular day

That you guys know you can stick to.

There's many times when the kids say,

"Hey, you know, I'd like to go--go go-kart."

"Okay. Yeah, okay, let's go next week."

And then it's just like,

It's kind of, like, forgotten by us.

Logan.[Amy] what would you like to do?

Hmm. [Jo] it's take that chick out, isn't it?

Hmm? Huh? It's that girl, isn't it?

You want to take that girl out, right,

To the--to the cinema, to that movie. Yeah.

I put on the calendar go-- uh, going out with a friend,

You know, ice skating.

The last time I went out to live a regular -year-old's life,

I real--i can't even remember.

Corban, what are you gonna do? [Dale] come on, man.

Amazone or the movies. [Jo] amazone? What's amazone?

[Amy] what's amazone? It's like a play place where they have games,

And they have laser tag.

[Amy] there's no backing out of those calendar days,

Because it's something that we promised them,

And I think, you know, the scar would be a deep scar,

You know, if we didn't follow through with that.

Okay, so let's pin this calendar up.

I mean, I want these kids to know that we mean what we say.

[Jo] there's no time like the present,

And it's so important to give carley

That time with her mother

That she's so desperately craving.

The last time I ever did anything with my mom

Was, like, about a year ago.

Sometimes she'd say that me and her were gonna go out,

Like, mother-daughter thing

And that never happened.

[Jo] carley and amy, let's go out.

All right. Be good. Jo out. See you later.

[Woman] are you here for your manicures and pedicures?

Yes, we are. All right.

I like that--that dark one, carley. Do you?

Mm-hmm. Which one's your favorite?

The dark blue one.yeah.

When my mom and I went to the nail salon,

It was fun having time to talk to her.

[Woman] now you can bug mom to do this more often.

What do you think? Yeah.

I think it was good that she and I had an opportunity

To talk together

And just enjoy even the quiet moments together.

What do you think, carley? Did that feel good? Yeah.

I hope that the pair of them

Continue to have these little mother and daughter dates,

Because it'd be healthy for the pair of them.

Coming up on "supernanny,"

Logan reveals a secret to his dad.

So you felt like running away from it all? Yes.

And mom makes dad reveal

An even darker secret of his own.

We have to speak up one other issue, too,

That's been a huge source on contention,

And I think dale knows what I'm getting at.

When "supernanny" returns.

This afternoon, I have turned my attention to logan,

So mom and dad can see exactly the undo burden

That has been put on him looking after all of these kids.

So we've got more work

This afternoon for the pair of you.

We're gonna go into the other room here. [Both] okay.

[Jo] logan's afraid to speak to his parents,

So what I have done is set up a curtain,

So that he can freely express himself

Without feeling intimidated by mom and dad's reactions.

I mean, I don't want to whine,

But the responsibilities, you know,

Have been a little too much.

I-i don't want to seem like, you know, I can't handle them.

I mean, I can,

Just not for the time period that I've been.

It makes me, like, angry and upset.

Sometimes, I just can't deal with it.

You know, it just kind of gets me to the point

Where I just kind of want to--want to walk off.

[Jo] what do you mean by "walk off"?

Well, I guess leave.

So you've felt like running away from it all? Yes.

And have you felt like you've been able

To come to mom and dad and tell them that?

Not so much.

Dale, I ask you to pull back the curtain.

I-i did run away, logan, when I was--i was probably about ,

Because I felt as though that my dad

Really wasn't listening to me.

I just want to keep the communication open.

Just say, "hey, we got to sit down and talk."

I'll take responsibility of the kids when I'm home

Rather than unloading it on you.

That's my job.

I looked at logan's face at the end of the discussion,

And I did not see a sense of relief,

And I knew what that was from.

We have to speak up one other issue, too,

That's been a huge source of contention,

You know, that has honestly caused logan

To be in a situation

That he shouldn't necessarily have to be in,

And I think dale knows what I'm getting at.

This family had been holding back something from me

Whilst I was teaching,

And now I was about to find out exactly what it was.

Yeah, I was curious.

I just felt like I owed it to both logan and to dale.

As ugly as that skeleton is,

I just felt like that was very important to bring out.

I guess, at first, I was hoping it wouldn't come up.

Everything else was brought up to jo,

So I thought, well, there's no sense in that being hidden.

Um, drinking has been an issue.

Dales uses that to help with his stress,

Forcing logan to grow up and see things

That he shouldn't have to see.

When he was drinking, it gets out of hand.

Things happen, and there have been a couple times

When he's actually had to go to the hospital.

Logan and I have had to take all the kids to soccer games

While dad was in the back of the van passed out.

So alcohol, for you, lead you in a place

Where your family became the victim of that, as well.

Is that correct?

Yes.

If dad doesn't deal with his drinking problem

Promptly and directly,

He's going to continue to affect this family,

And that's no joke.

This, to me, is--is a-a major breakthrough,

Because while you're prepared to suffocate yourself,

You will take everybody else with you.

[Logan] I was glad

That my mom brought the, uh-- the issue up with my dad.

Now I hope that he does consider getting help for it.

I'm sorry, okay?

I do love you, okay?

Don't ever forget, all right?

The seriousness of dad's drinking problem

Is affecting every member of this family,

And this can only be changed by him.

I'm actually gonna go for several days.okay.

[Jo] it is time for me to leave this family

And let them get on with what they've been taught.

However, going away

Means that I can really start to look at solutions

And get the proper information that's necessary

In order to help dad move forward.

See you when I get back.okay.

[Jo] when I come back, I am gonna need to talk to dad

More about the drinking issue

And where he's going to take this

Now that everything's out in the open.

[Amy] okay. Bye-bye.

Bye-bye, dear. Bye-bye.

Coming up on "supernanny,"

Logan gets to go on a date.

I was really looking forward to this.really?

Yeah. Aw, that's so cute!

And later, jo confronts dad about his drinking.

Because I can't do without it. Uh...

With what? The alcohol.

When "supernanny" returns.

So I've been gone for a few days.

You guys have been left

To really get on with it without me,

And what we're gonna do is take a look at this,

So we know exactly what's going on here.

I hate walking. [Laughs] I'll hold your hand,

But if I fall, I'll let it go. All right. Ready?

Ready? You got to--you got to hold it. Okay, ready?okay.

[Gasps] oh! It isn't so bad.

Oh, this isn't-- this is not as bad

As I thought it was gonna be. [Laughs]

And, like, that little girl, like, can, like, do,

Like twirls and, like, skate backwards.

Yeah. It's like, "stop showing off."

I know, right? Don't show off.

So what else is new? Nothing.

Nothing? Just a boring day.

How are you-- I was really looking forward to this.

Really? Yeah.

Aw, that's so cute! I know.

I mean, really, I mean, what are we looking at here?

We're looking at your teenage son having a chance

To--to be a teenager, you know?

He's got his little first love there,

And he's taking her out ice skating. That's cute. Mm-hmm.

Really cute, really nice

And--and really to the point

That we realize the importance of logan

Having that time... Mm-hmm.

Just to do the things that he wants to be able to do

Like a normal teenager would do,

So I'm very pleased to see that.

I-i very much am.

He can have some juice.

[Crying] when he wakes up, he's gonna want some food.

Okay. Okay? I'll be back.

Pick your feet up. Here we go. Look. Look. Da-da.

[Boy] there's lots of fluffy things. Okay. I know.

Oop. Watch your leg. Here you go. Here you go.

[Dale groans]

Come back.

That's the nail, I'll tell you...i know.

Right on the head there. He got a break.

Yeah. That logan's just chillin'. That's funny.

How sweet is that?yeah.

What do you think about what you just say there, dale? Liked it. Yeah.

Huh? What did you like about that?

Oh, just being out there with the--with the kids--

You know, just me and the kids, uh, you know?

Just--are you proud of man you just saw?

Yeah. Yeah. 'Cause that's you.

Yeah, I've been-- I mean, seriously, dale, look what you're--

Look what you are capable of doing.right.

I hope this is a real eye-opener for you...mm-hmm.

Oh, it is. You know, the man that--that--that you are.

And there are certain things, that, you know what?

You need to kick out the back side to get rid of,

So that you can continue being that father. Mm-hmm.

Seriously.yeah.

That's so rewarding to see. Absolutely.

Let's take a look at the kids' concerns,

'Cause I think it really elaborates

On what I've just been talking about.

That they--they have seen the changes.

They--they want it to remain,

And--and they're worried about that.

In a--in a way, it's-- it's them saying indirectly,

"Please, please find the strength for us.

"Please promise us that--

"That you'll do what you're supposed to do,

"Because we expect you to provide safety for us,

Stability, for us to know that we can count on you."

If right now you go, "where am I gonna find

The strength to do this for myself?"

Then you know what? Find it for your kids right now.

Find it for your kids.

"I have to do this for my kids.

I want to do this for my kids."

There's no room for you

To recognize the beauty in--in raising the kids,

Because you're own critic was too busy

Wanting to put you down with the drink and stuff like that,

So there's no room,

Because the--the drink don't care about that.

Drink don't want that.

The drink wants to destroy everything.

So these kids are gonna need to know

That you guys are-- are willing to continue

To make the effort

And--and keep things the way that they are.

So are ready to create more stability for them?

Yeah? Because we do want it, right?right.

Mm-hmm. Yeah? All right.

Let's get on with some more work then.okay.

Okay. Okay.

Coming up on "supernanny,"

Jo confronts dad about his drinking.

As I'm talking to you,

I can smell alcohol on your breath.

But will he take action?

If dale don't want this enough,

Then everyone's gonna pay the price for that.

When "supernanny" returns.

Dad's drinking problem is affecting the family.

We know that.

I need to sit and talk to dad about this

And see if he really understands the consequence of that.

Really, the--the--the abscess

That had erupted

And left all these surface issues

That needed to be resolved--

That's what I want to talk to you about now, okay?

Because as I'm talking to you,

I can smell alcohol on your breath.

It's--it's a major, major concern,

And ultimately,

Everything that's been put in place here

Is going to drown.

Right. I leave this family thinking,

God, you know, if dale don't want this enough,

Then everyone's gonna pay the price for that.

You've got to want to change it.

You've got to want things to be different.

Do you think that you need help? I do,

'Cause I can't do without it. Uh... With what?

The alcohol.

In the couple of days that I was off,

I did some research,

And even tonight, there's a support group

That you could go to if you wanted to,

If you wanted to get help.

But if you want to,

I tell you one thing, I'll come on the car journey with you.

I'll come with you.

Okay. And you know what?

If we get up to that door and you go, "I can't do it,"

You know what? I ain't gonna judge you.

You know, when somebody's offering you

That kind of help and support,

I mean, not--not a whole lot of people would do that.

I guess the reason why I don't sound too eager--

Because I'm ashamed. It means you're feeling.

If you feel ashamed, it means that you felt.

You're not in denial. You know what? Amy--she used to ask me,

"Well, if you had one legacy to leave to your kids,

What would it be?"

And I says, "i-i can't even-- I can't even think."

So you feel bad about it, but at least you've owned up.

At least you turned around and go, "you know what?

I feel bad that I did this,"

But at least you're saying you know why.

It's brought you that much closer as a family

To feeling, you know what? Let's get help with this.

Let's change this.

I mean, to me, this is-- this is so much bigger.

You're right.

You got beer stashed in the house?

Um... Yeah.

Well, should we go and clear it out?

Dad's been secretly drinking

And hiding beer all around the house.

And what we need to do first is to clear out that beer,

Because it's dangerous. There are kids in that house.

Where is that one? Yeah, I took that one out already.

[Jo] for me, watching dad

Collect all these beer cans,

It was a clear illustration

To the depth of this man's problem.

All right, so now what do we do? Yeah.

First, tell my wife. All right.

All right? I'm behind you.

It took a lot of courage for this man to come clean,

Be accountable

And to take responsibility for his actions.

And the first person that he wanted to talk to

Was his wife.

Hey, I'm gonna go to a support group tonight.tonight?

Yep.good.

And, uh, jo's gonna ride with me.okay.

Okay?good.

Good. I'm sorry.

Good for you. [Boy] you guys want...

I'm sorry for lying. That's okay.

No, it's not.

He told me that he was gonna get some help

For abuse of drinking,

So that was a huge step for him.

So...

That's the first step.i know.

That's what you needed to do. I know.

And then of course, it was time for dad

To speak to the young man

Who had basically picked up the slack.

Hey, logan, come here for a minute.

He's--he's--he's a good kid.

I-i-i kind of hate to see him

Growing up as fast as he did.

So I'm gonna go ahead,

And I'm going to a support group tonight.

All right?okay.

Good. I'm sorry for everything, okay? That's okay.

I-i think my dad's taken a big step

Of trying to, you know, resolve his problems,

And I really, uh, I'm proud of him.

Ready?

I'm gonna be taking dad to his first meeting,

And this is a huge step for him.

I'll see you in a hour. Okay.

All right. Bye-bye. Thank you. Bye.

I was just glad to go in and just see other people

In the same--same predicament,

So I was like, well, you know, I guess I'm not the only one.

Hey, baby, how you doing? Hey, dudes.

Yo.

Hi, baby. How you doing? Hey, man.

[Jo] I think it's very encouraging

That dale's family see him taking this first step,

Because it's gonna allow them to feel

That he's actually doing something about it.

Amy just said to me, "how did dale do?"

And I go, "ask him yourself."

Ask him yourself. Tell me. Tell me.

I met a few people--

About eight--eight others in there.

I-i guess I feel very, very happy that he did that,

Because, again, that's a good first step

In the right direction towards him healing himself.

[Jo] did it feel good? [Amy] are you excited?

Yeah. Yeah. Were you glad you went?

Yeah. Yep. Good.

I am really proud that this family had the courage

To open up the cupboard door

On a really dark secret

That they had been keeping for a very long time.

I want a big group hug from all of you. [Amy] yeah!

Come here, seriously. All of you. [Groans]

Squeeze it all in. [All speaking indistinctly]

Squeeze it all in.

I would say it is a happier house.

I believe I am a better dad.

Yeah, it's gonna be, uh, something I will continue.

Mwah!

Thank you so much. Take care, okay?

If jo had not come here,

I don't honestly know what would have happened.

It could have led up to the kids and I leaving.

It could have led--

Led up to premature death on dale's part, you know?

It--it--a-a lot of ugly things certainly could have happened.

Come here and give me a hug. You're not too big for a hug.

Oh, you're not too big for a hug, huh?

[Logan] I hope that, uh, you know, my dad

Continues to go to this group,

And I hope that, you know, we all start to get along better,

And for us to, uh, become closer

And, you know, enjoy each other a little more.

Take care. Take care. All right, I love you.

Take care of yourself, mate.

Take care of yourself. Take care of your family.i will.

I just hope that this family continue to find the strength

And the courage every day to move just a little step forward.

If you know a family suffering from alcoholism,

There is hope and help out there.

♪♪♪