04x03 - The Connolly Family

[bunniefuu]

NARRATOR: 'They're every parent's worst nightmare.'

Stupid!

'Kids completely out of control...' SCREAMING

'..and taking over the household.'

I will smack your butt.

'These parents have reached the end of the road.'

All right, enough, I don't care!

'They're in desperate need of help.' - Get upstairs!

Get in the bath tub now!

'They have only one alternative left,

'it's time to contact Nanny .'

This is Nanny , can I help you?

'From our team of world-class nannies direct from Nanny Central,

'the right nanny will be chosen.

'They will then have one week to take our families

'from living hell to a family bliss.'

- You're a waste of life. 'Can these families be saved?'

I'm going to call the police.

- No! - Anthony!

I don't love you.

What you do with those children is MY business.

'Parents of America, help is on the way.

- The nanny's here! - The nanny's here!

Who's your nanny?

- Evan, Evan, stop. 'For Kelly Connelly,

'parenting's a solo act.'

Take your finger out of your nose. Taylor, stop.

'While Dad's overseas in the army, mom is fighting a w*r at home.'

Shut up. SCREAMING

'The kids have taken over, and Mom has lost all control.

- Stupid! - Sit in your chair.

- No. - Yes.

No. 'The tantrums are endless...

'and the disrespect knows no bounds.'

- We're gonna k*ll her. - Hey!

'Can Nanny Deb get Mom to take control of her kids?'

You HAVE given up on your children.

'Or will Mom give up on it all?' - Sorry, it's just so much.

You are afraid of your children at this point.

'It's a fight to the finish on this week's Nanny .'

MOM: Hey, you!

Stop. CRYING

- Stupid! - Finish with...

Did you just spit on me?

Stop. Do not kick me.

Get out. SCREAMS

My name is Kelly Connolly, I am years old.

Pick it up for Mommy, give it to mummy. Give it to Mommy.

Currently, my husband, Eric, is deployed overseas.

And has been gone for quite some time.

So I'm pretty much a single parent.

WAILING

Oh, God. Nuh-uh. He was playing with that.

WAILING Dealing with my children

and all the behaviours that they have,

it really doesn't stop.

Take your finger out of your nose. Kayla, stop.

Everyone's always screaming.

- Or crying or whining or something. - Kiara, stop.

- It's constant, it's just constant. - Shut up.

We have Kiara, who is four years old.

The big issues that I see with Kiara is the hitting...

No!

..not listening...

- Sit in your chair. - No.

- Yes. - No.

..and talking back to me.

- I'm not gonna do it. - Seriously, that's enough.

I suggest you go away.

And there's Kayla, who's three.

If you're not eating it, I will smack your butt.

Kayla is the most destructive...

Pick it up.

You knocked it over, now you need to pick it up.

When she gets angry, she just doesn't care.

Do not touch... Kayla.

Why does she have so much anger?

And what is wrong with my kid?

And then there's Evan...

What are you doing? Stop.

He's seeing what his sisters are doing.

So then he's copying them.

- He's hitting me. - And it's so intense.

I have tried everything to try and get them to listen.

You need to sit. You need to sit and calm down.

I have timeouts.

You need to sit. On the step, enough.

They won't stay in the spot that they're supposed to.

OK, now your time starts over again. Thank you.

I had a rules chart, and Kayla ripped that down.

Kayla.

My sister, Megan, helps me out.

'I cannot do this without Megan's help.'

- We hate her. - Don't say that.

- And we're gonna k*ll her. - Hey!

Hey!

The house is crazy. KAYLA SCREAMS

Get off of that.

MEGAN: 'I feel like there's no structure.'

The kids have control over the house.

Kayla! I'm not gonna turn on the TV if you act like that.

- What are you doing? - Ew! She's blown her nose.

Kayla, go... Oh, my God. Oh, aye, aye, aye.

'I cannot thank her enough.'

And knowing she has to leave, I get very upset.

All I think is, oh, God, I'm by myself.

I have to do this again, alone.

The girls are always asking for sippy cups.

All day, through the night.

- I wanna use that one. - I want a sippy cup.

Kiara has about eight a day.

Kayla has eight to ten.

You just had juice.

Kayla.

And they use it for comfort.

- I want a sippy cup. - I said no, go downstairs.

So any time they get upset, that's the first thing that they ask for.

"I want my sippy, I want my juice."

- Stupid. - Kayla.

The disrespect really has increased.

- Kayla, sit in your chair. - No.

Pick it up. Why?

Because it's so stinky. Oh, that's nice.

They never used to say they hated me.

- Stupid, ass! - Kayla.

Called me stupid or they want to k*ll me.

- Go upstairs. - Shut up.

All that started after, you know, he left.

It's time for bed, let's go.

Bedtime in our house is... non-existent.

You're gonna bite yourself? That's a little silly.

Somebody is always up screaming and wanting something.

I usually put them to bed around :, o'clock.

No, not on the floor!

They call me names, they get out of their beds...

SCREAMING

- Stop it! - Good night.

It's just like a three-hour ordeal.

KAYLA SCREAMS

Absolutely horrible.

- We hate you now. - That's really nice.

- We hate you. - Why would you say that?

BOTH: We hate you. We hate you.

Our family really needs... needs help.

'And I just feel like I'm doing everything wrong.

'I do, I really need help.'

Sorry, it's just so much.

Well, well. Just because Dad's away is no excuse

for a house turned on its head.

Nanny Deb, your nurturing style will get this mum on her feet again

so she can be the great parent I know she is.

DOOR BELL

- Hello. - Come in.

- Hello, I'm Nanny Deb. - Hi. I'm Kelly, nice to meet you.

How are you? Are you gonna say hi? Are you gonna tell me your name?

- What's your name? - Kayla.

Nice to meet you, Kayla. What's your name?

- Kiara. - Kiara! And what's your name?

- Evan. - Thank you for having me.

I feel a little nervous about what the nanny's gonna say.

'But I will do whatever she says.'

Today, I'm just gonna be walking around, observing the family.

So as much as possible, if you can carry on with your normal day.

OK.

I'm up for any criticism. I just want the help for Kelly.

If Kiara might be able to do this.

Maybe Kayla can pretend that I'm invisible and that you don't see me.

That will be the most useful to us all.

KELLY: What are you guys gonna play?

NANNY DEB: 'I've asked Megan to sit out so I can see how Mum interacts

'with the kids. I know she helps out sometimes

'but Mum needs to learn how to handle these kids on her own.'

Hey, Kiara, let go. Stop. Stop it. Keep your hands to yourself.

'And almost immediately, the two girls begin a shoving match.'

Kiara! Go sit on the step, go.

You've been down here two seconds, go sit on the step now.

'Mum seems to have a timeout system in place...

'but for some reason, it has no effect on her children.'

Kayla can have it first,

then you can have a turn. - No!

Kiara's tantrums are... the only word to use is they're extreme.

On a scale to one to ten, they're a . No doubt about it.

WAILING

If this continues, she's not gonna survive till her husband gets home.

She's just not. No-one could live in this /.

WAILING

'It's taken a while, but Kiara has finally calmed down

'and is ready to rejoin the group.'

The whole time you've been down here, you haven't even played,

all you've done is screamed and cried.

No, he's playing with that.

WAILING

'I may have spoken to soon.'

- No, I didn't. - You just slapped my legs, go.

WAILING

KELLY: 'When I put the kids in timeout, me, honestly,

'sometimes I give up.'

Say you're sorry?

- No. - OK.

They can go on for minutes,

but I don't have enough arms, eyes and ears to do that.

WAILING

NANNY DEB: 'These kids know exactly what to do to wear Mum down.'

WAILING

'And it seems to be working.' Wanna go play?

You can have milk in a big cup.

Here, you can have milk in a big girl cup, and that's it.

CRYING: No!

I was really shocked at how dramatic it was,

the way these children were asking for their sippy cups.

- Is this normal, the sippy cup? - Yes. It's like a comfort thing.

The sippy cups are one of the most consistent things

in these children's lives, of course they're gonna freak out

when they don't have them around. They're like a security blanket.

You can have a juice like Kayla has.

KIARA: No!

These children are addicted to sippy cups.

'It's only : in the afternoon and the kids are already exhausted.'

Kayla? OK, well, you'll sleep tonight, hopefully. Let's go.

NANNY DEB: What time is bedtime normally?

What time do I, like, put them to bed?

Mm-hm.

Around eight, eight thirty, sometimes a bit later,

depends what time they fall asleep.

Around , o'clock at night.

And they don't take naps?

There's been times they haven't gone to bed till two in the morning.

Sleep is a major issue for this family,

these children don't sleep, so during the day,

they're exhausted, that causes a tantrum.

So it's a vicious cycle. Where are you going?

You're going upstairs to sleep?

Oh, no, you're not taking a nap right now.

You can't sleep right now, honey, you have to sleep tonight.

'With no schedule in the house,

'these kids don't know what to expect from their day.'

Up. Wake up. Wake up, wake up, wake up.

'The kids are confused by when to sleep and end up getting none.

Kiara, don't push him! Kiara.

SCREAMING Stop.

You don't need... Yeah. Go and sit in the corner now.

You just kicked him right in the face.

'The lack of sleep creates an unruly atmosphere,

'which is beyond any type of discipline.'

Oh, no, no, no.

Sit!

Oh, like that helps anything.

- Stop it, stupid! - OK, that's why you're sitting!

It's really obvious that these children are absolutely exhausted

and desperately in need of more sleep.

No. No. Stop.

WAILING

'Sleep deprived and out of gas,

'Kayla has only a few quiet thoughts left for Mum.'

You what?

- You wanna k*ll me? - Mm-hm.

- And what does that mean? - I want a new mom.

- Do you? - Yeah.

Mm, OK. 'Kayla is very aggressive,

'and she uses a lot of mean words.'

On top of everything else, Kayla is very, very anxious.

Mommy...

'It's getting close to bedtime and Mum still has to feed three kids

'and get them to bed.' Go sit down. Go.

'Somehow, she manages to whip up dinner.'

- OK, Kayla, you're gonna be hungry. - You make disgusting dinners.

No-one likes what's on the menu, and Mum is numb to the insults.

- You're not gonna eat either? - I told you it was disgusting.

Evan's not hungry.

'Dinner time in this household is absolute chaos.

I'm not gonna eat it.

EVAN CRIES Evan, Evan, stop.

These children don't sit, they don't eat.

They are spiralling out of control. Mum doesn't get to eat.

WAILING

KELLY: 'I spent all this time cooking...

'and I go and get everybody...'

They don't even go to the table.

I try and get everybody to the table, no-one listens.

'They won't eat anything.

'It's a waste of food, it's a waste of time.'

It's a waste of my energy.

'Mum starts preparing the house for bedtime.'

Here, here's your blankie.

'But these children will do anything to avoid going to sleep.'

Go in your room, I'll be in in a minute. Go. Go.

No. I will be with you in a minute, go in your room.

And I said I'll be with you in a minute. Go.

No, go in your room.

You should've eat when I told you to eat.

No, it's too late. No, it's too late.

'These kids are already anxious at bedtime,

'so things only get worse

'when their mum holds back their one comfort - the sippy cup.'

Mommy is so tired. Enough. Enough.

Just go and get me a juice! 'Their reactions are mind blowing.'

Like, seriously, like, you're psychotic.

SCREAMS Kiara. Now.

I've been in many, many families where I say bedtime's a nightmare,

but in this family, bedtime it isn't a nightmare,

it's like a horror movie.

'There's no way the kids will accept this.'

Go upstairs and I'll get it for you. 'And Mum finally relents.

'Even though it's the worst thing she can do,

'I see why Mum gives in and gives them their sippy cups.

Because at this point, it's the only way these children

are going to be quiet.

'With Kelly spending all her time and energy

'fighting her overtired children,

'it's no wonder she's feeling defeated.

'It's time to chat about what I've seen

'with Mum and her sister, Megan.'

My fear for you is that you have almost a year

of your husband being gone.

But with three children under the age of five

with the behaviours they are exhibiting now,

I see you in a straitjacket.

I was here a short period of time, and my head was just spinning.

The tantrums are beyond extreme.

The other thing I see a big issue with is time management.

Like there doesn't seem to be a schedule,

and I think I sort of saved the worst for last in some respects,

but it all ties in, is bedtime. Which, there isn't.

My biggest accomplishment, hopefully, this week

will be to establish this is bedtime and this is what happens,

and we're gonna work towards that and set it in place

for all three of them. - OK.

That makes me nervous.

Well, you're afraid of your children at this point.

Can we call the family to come and have a family meeting?

So, see this book? Now we're going to have new rules in the house.

And everybody has to obey the rules, right?

This is the first rule.

This rule is a big, big, big rule.

This rule is no whining.

I wanna get out.

Because are we big girls or are we babies over there?

Big girls.

The next rule is be good listeners.

- Sit in your chair. - No.

- Yes. - No.

Because we have two ears and they work, and we're lucky.

OK, next rule. Only use nice words.

- I want a new mum. - Do you?

Yeah.

Can somebody show me what nice words are?

- Please can I have a sippy? - Ooh, that's a nice word.

Please is a nice word.

And then this one is... stay in your bed at night.

SCREAMING Stop it, stop it!

Don't say good night to me yet!

And then this is a big one. Big kids don't need sippies.

I want a sippy cup!

I want a sippy! I want a sippy cup.

But... big kids can have special big kid cups, right?

You know what these are, don't you?

Cups with straws are the next step after sippy cups.

And it's always good when you take something away

to give them something else in its place.

- Look at that! - You guys can have these instead.

Do you want one?

Nanny Deb just showed us the new rules.

And I think it's gonna be tough, but I'm ready to tackle it.

'With the rules in place, first order of business

'will be to get those sippy cups out of the house.'

Now that we have all these new cups with straws

that we like to drink from,

we have to send our sippies to the little ones who need them.

Goodbye, sippy cup.

- There you go. - KAYLA: Goodbye.

NANNY DEB: Goodbye, it was nice knowing you.

- Goodbye. - Goodbye. Nice knowing you.

Kiara was grabbing them and putting them in there.

"Oh, you missed one and here's this piece."

and I was completely surprised.

Off we go to Sippyville.

'Mum was pretty worried about taking the sippies away,

'but because I made it fun for the girls, they were happy to help.'

- Don't spill it. - I'll try not to.

- Yay! - I'm so proud of you guys.

I think it was a lot of me keeping them back a little bit.

- We have a surprise for Mummy now. - Come on, let's go.

This is a schedule to help Mummy stay organised.

So that she doesn't get too tired.

'Without structure, kids as well as adults can get very anxious.

Add structure, and you reduce that anxiety and bad behaviour.

'Making a schedule is the first step.'

We have a block of time, : till :,

it's only about an hour, it's a family activity

that Evan can be part of.

And then getting them engaged so you can step away

and get the laundry out. You can fit in the chores

during that time, you don't have to be solely focused on playing.

- OK. - And then, straight after dinner,

:, we're gonna conquer and divide.

- OK. - So we're gonna do Evan, bath time,

girls have a quiet play in their room.

I have a big rule of four Bs -

it's bath, brush teeth, book, bed.

It's the routine for me that's important.

If children have a routine every night, it makes them feel safe

and reassures them that they know what's coming next.

That prevents bedtime breakdowns.

Kids of that age in particular thrive on structure.

Not only do the kids know what's coming next,

I know what's coming next.

So I don't feel so anxious and overwhelmed,

so I can feel like I can stand up a little bit straighter.

'We waste no time putting the schedule to use.

'It's one o'clock, which means playtime for the girls.'

So today's activity, what we're gonna do is

we're gonna make home-made dough that's to play with.

'By letting children know what's coming next,

'the present can also run smoothly.'

'It's important not to let things get boring.

'Boredom very quickly leads to trouble.

No, he was playing with that.

SHE WHINGES No.

I think one of the biggest problems that Nanny Deb saw in the house

was that the behaviours start when the kids get bored.

Which I didn't notice or pick up on.

Where's your blue? How cool is that?

'These children are craving what I bring in,

'they're craving routine, they're craving discipline.'

So the sudden turnaround is not what's shocking to me,

but what I'm looking for is Mum to be able to maintain that

in the long run.

- I want help Mommy. - Do you wanna help?

This is not the same house.

Good job. Look at how fast you're going.

I am like so amazed.

'Throughout the day, the children have been sticking to the schedule,

'which has been keeping them too busy

'for screaming and bad behaviour.'

The whole schedule thing that she brought in is just awesome.

I knew I needed a schedule, I just didn't know how to do it.

'OK, so it's : and that's bedtime on our schedule.'

I love you.

Oh, my goodness. That makes my night so much easier.

'I'm hoping that our well-structured day will lead to a calm night.'

One of Nanny Deb's rules is for everyone to sleep in their own bed.

And I am feeling really, really worried

because it's been three years since that's really happened.

- Would you like some water, Kayla? - I'll see you in the morning.

'With some success under her belt,

'I think Mum can tackle bedtime on her own.

'Of course, I'll be nearby in case I'm needed.'

- You can have some water. - No.

- OK? - I want some juice.

OK, but you can have some water right now. I know you're upset.

No, I want some juice.

Are you mad Mommy won't get you juice?

KAYLA WAILS I know.

- Come back in your bed. - No.

Kayla. 'I'm a bit worried by this.

'Kayla has seen a lot of change today.

'Is taking away her juice at bedtime one thing too many?'

Kayla...

Kayla. That is not using nice words.

Like, I know that part of it is attention seeking

and I still give in into it, and I think it's because

I'm overcompensating for their dad not being here.

When you want juice or milk, you have to have it before tubby time.

After tubby time, there's no more milk or juice,

but you may have some water.

OK, night, night.

'These kids certainly do anything they can to avoid just going to bed.

'They are trying to wear Mum down like they do every day.'

WAILING

INDISTINCT CRYING

I know, you're mad, and I know you're sad, and it's OK.

'But I'm not going to step in just yet.

'Mum's doing everything right.

'She staying calm and keeps putting Kayla back to bed.

'This bedtime routine still needs a lot of work,

'but if Mum can hold strong and hold through tonight,

'every night from here on out will be easier.

'I hope.' SCREAMING

Mommy. Mom...

When Kayla starts acting that way, she just doesn't care about, like,

anything or anyone that's in her way.

SCREECHING

'I've watched Mum struggle for long enough.

'It's time to step in and calm Kayla down.

'We've got to let her know that things are OK,

'even without her juice.' WHISPERS: There. Let's try, darling.

Everybody sleeps in their own bed. It's night time.

One way to soothe a screaming or anxious child

is to talk to them with a very soothing, calming voice.

If Kayla listens to my voice,

it will help her relax enough to fall asleep.

Night, night, darling.

KELLY: 'I'm just, like, blown away.'

She has magic fairy dust or something, I don't know.

WHISPERS: Everybody sleeps in their own bed at night, darling.

Basically, their whole lives, these children have had chaos at bedtime.

And you can't expect overnight these children to suddenly

go from getting their own way

and running around the house for four hours to going to bed.

It's gonna take time, it's gonna take work,

but it is going to happen.

'After a long night, it's time for a fresh start.

'I just hope the girls slept long enough to get through the day.'

Mummy's gonna be in charge.

And I am going to watch what you guys are doing with Mummy.

- All right? - OK.

Bye, lady, I want to see it when it's finished.

'While I step aside, Mum has scheduled another fun activity

'to keep the girls occupied so they don't act up.

- Ooh, yeah! - Would that be cool?

It was nice to see how long the girls sat

and actually played with it. They just played so nicely together.

Please, now, Kayla. Say, "Mommy, I would like to do it, please." OK?

'It's nice to see Mum running things for a change instead of the kids.'

- OK, so we have to clean up. - No.

We're gonna clean up and then we're gonna go upstairs.

- This is not finished yet. - And then we're gonna have a snack.

WHINING

'One thing Mum's still been struggling with is the transition,

'getting the children to finish one task, one activity,

'and move onto the next.'

I know, it's hard to clean up and put things away

when you're having such a good time, but if it's not finished,

we can always finish it tomorrow.

'Mum needs to make cleaning up a game

'to keep the girls' attention.'

- No! - Yes.

Kiara. Kiara. I'm giving you a warning.

Kiara, you had a warning.

If you throw it, you're choosing to go on timeout.

OK. Come on, we were having so much fun. Kiara. Have a seat.

SHE CHUCKLES

'For Kiara, timeout has always been a game.

It's been "chase me, chase me," you know, Kiara will laugh

and run around the house.

SHE CHUCKLES

Ah! KAYLA CRIES

She's stupid.

NANNY DEB: 'OK, I've had enough of these ineffective timeouts.

'We are gonna figure this out right now.'

Because it's become such a game for her,

I think you're just gonna have to be a bit firmer.

It's got to be a little bit more forceful

than you would normally do it. So that she gets the message.

And this is the last chance.

You're in timeout for pinching your sister.

You need to sit in timeout. If you get up again,

you are not going to have fun with everyone else. Do you understand?

Being in control feels great because I'm not instilling fear in them.

At the same time, let them know, you know,

there's limits and there's rules and there's consequences.

All right, come on. SHE SOBS

Come and eat your snack.

'I'm giving Mum some alone time with the kids at lunch.

'I'm a bit concerned the lack of sleep

'will be catching up with them,

'but I'm hoping they can stay calm through the meal.'

INDISTINCT Go sit down.

'I'll be watching from the monitor in case things get out of hand.

OK, but we have to eat. SCREAMING

We don't have to eat again!

Kayla.

Uh-uh. Kayla.

- This is ripped. - OK, so you're mad it's ripped.

Go sit down.

Kayla, we're leaving the television off right now.

Come sit down.

Kayla.

That is your warning. If you touch it again,

you're going to sit in timeout. Do you understand?

OK, you need to go in timeout for not listening.

Kayla, come sit down.

Oh, God.

'We need to get these timeouts to work.

'There is a way to get these kids to sit,

'and right now, that's the focus.

KAYLA CHUCKLES You are in timeout.

SHE SPITS

When Kayla gets put into a timeout, she gets extremely aggressive.

She was out of control.

This is not good.

I was at my wit's end.

I felt like I was gonna have a heart att*ck.

It was horrible. And I felt like I was really failing,

I felt like I was really, really failing at this.

Oh, no, no, no. I've got to go in.

SCREAMING

Oh, dear, what's going on in here?

I just felt like I was really floundering and really failing.

Back to our old fun and games, I see.

To me, it was just crazy chaos.

Kayla. Kayla. You do not throw yourself on the floor.

Kayla, stand up.

Now, you sit on the step and Nanny can talk to you.

One... We're gonna count to ten. ..two, three...

'Calmly counting to ten helps Kayla focus on my voice and breathe

'so she can relax.'

..nine, ten.

Are you listening?

It was obvious that Mum was giving up,

she was really struggling, she was having a lot of anxiety

and really feeling as though she wasn't able to do this.

And you cannot give up on your children.

I want just to see you, instead of falling into that place

of they're naughty and you're just constantly punishing,

disciplining, disciplining, disciplining,

naughty, naughty, naughty,

cos that's been your job for the last few years.

They're constantly naughty, you're constantly disciplining.

And there's no fun. And then it just all goes...

Right.

TIMER PINGS

The timer went off. What does that mean?

- I can get up. - You can get up.

Do you know why you went on the steps for timeout?

You broke a rule, you didn't listen.

Will you remember to listen next time?

OK. Can I give you a hug?

OK. Thank you.

'It's pm and time for dinner. Until the kids sleep properly,

'this will never be an easy meal to get through.'

Go upstairs, wash your hands.

And then come back and you are eating.

- I'm not gonna eat. I'm gonna play. - OK, that's your choice,

if you don't eat, then you'll feel hungry.

- I don't like stupid dinner. - Thank you, Kiara.

We need to get this child to get enough sleep

so that she can be able to be a calm girl at dinner time.

If you don't stop, what's gonna happen?

'I'm tired of watching these outrageous tantrums.'

Kayla.

SHE WAILS

'They're a waste of everybody's energy.

Ow.

KELLY: 'I was feeling like such... like a wimp with my kids.

'Like I just couldn't do it. OK, this is it.

'So she helped me to find that.'

Enough!

So I took control, I felt like I was taking control.

You are in timeout! You need to sit.

But she was all over the place, she was all over the place

and when I tried to put her back in again,

she throws her body and just wasn't...

To me, I don't think it was working.

WHINES

It's really great to see that Mum is trying very hard

and she's definitely getting the hang of it.

Eight, nine, ten.

When you're finished, then we can do something fun.

'Mum feels like she keeps running into walls

'with everything she's trying.'

It's understandable that she is at the end of her rope,

but she can't give up hope. I'm not gonna let her down

and she's not gonna let her children down.

Are you hanging in there? MOUTHS

No?

You're on your own. You didn't choose to be on your own, you know,

it's not like you went off and had three kids by yourself

and knew what you were getting into, this was just thrust upon you

that now your husband is gone, you know, fighting for the country,

and you're left to basically fight for your family.

You've not had no sleep for four years.

You know, you're completely run down emotionally,

you're completely run down physically.

And the biggest thing you have to remember is,

these are your children.

And you never give up on your children.

And what's gotten you into this mess, so to speak,

is that you have given up on your children.

'The hardest part of the day is upon us

'and I'm hoping my talk with Mum has given her a new outlook

'to deal with her kids' bedtime drama.'

Listen, it's time for night-night.

Mommy's gonna sit right outside your door.

- I am thirsty. - Would you like some water?

No!

'Here we go again. These bedtime tantrums

'are one habit Kayla refuses to shake.'

I don't wanna sleep.

KAYLA SOBS

Help, help!

'I don't think that this family can take another sleepless night.

'Mum needs to get Kayla to sleep, this is it.'

KELLY SINGS: Twinkle, twinkle, little star

how I wonder what you are.

'Mum is having Kayla focus on her calm voice to get her to relax

'and breathe through the tantrum. Just like I showed her last night.'

WHISPERS: Everybody sleeps in their own bed at night time.

Everybody sleeps in their own bed at night time.

I have no idea the last time that this happened,

and I just so thrilled.

I am so excited and I really don't even know

what to do with myself right now.

'Bedtime was the biggest hurdle in this family,

'and Mum finally succeeded.'

You did it, you did it.

You stayed strong

'I know the kids can feel her new spirit.'

It's all gonna come together.

And once you see success, grasp hold of that.

I don't feel defeated, I feel like I'm exhausted,

I think I needed some success somewhere, somehow.

'I feel like, wow, I actually did something,

'this is actually working and I can do this.'

Like, I can do anything.

Oh, my God, I wish I could call their dad

and be like, "They're in bed!"

You can have lots of success stories to tell him.

- Thank you, thank you. - You are so welcome.

Get some sleep.

I can say that now and know that you might.

NANNY DEB: Good morning!

'It's my last day with the Connollys

'and I wanted to make sure Dad knows

'how much his family has accomplished.'

Look what Nanny decided to bring today.

Because I think that Daddy is so far away and working so hard

that we should send him a letter.

What do you want me to write to Daddy?

- I drink... - And I love you.

Dear Daddy, please come home tomorrow.

- It just tugs on heartstrings. - It does.

- We love you. - Making Nanny's mascara run.

'Everyone in this house feels the effects of Dad not being here,

'but at least he'll have a much happier place to come home to.'

I think he's gonna be so happy when he gets his letter.

You got the envelope? Let's use teamwork.

Good job, lots and lots of love in this letter, huh?

'The Connolly home today is a dramatically different home

'than the one I originally stepped into.

WAILING Stop. Stop it.

'These kids are now sleeping in their beds,

'playing nicely and listening to their mother.

'It's time to say goodbye,

'so Mum can carry on being the head of this house.'

It's time for Nanny to say goodbye.

I'm going to miss you so much.

And I love you so much, and I'm so proud of you.

I just want you all to stay strong.

I know, I've seen such strength out of you this week,

and I know that it's there.

You'll have my number, I'm on speed dial.

But I just want you to really stick with it

and be strong and be consistent. Just know that there is light

at the end of the tunnel, and you've seen it.

She's brought happiness back here, she's brought calmness,

she's brought me and my kids back together again.

Love you. Such a great girl.

I love you so much.

Let's do a big group hug, everybody together, ready?

A big group hug so we have happy tears, not sad tears.

- You can do it. - Thank you.

I have faith, I know you can do it.

My family will stick to the rules

because I'm gonna make them stick to the rules.

Love you. Mwah! I love you. Mwah!

'They've definitely got a long road ahead,

'and there will be struggles on the way,

'but the best part about this

'is that Mum now has the strength to carry on.'