04x08 - The Henry Family

[bunniefuu]

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

Stupid!

'..kids completely out of control.'

No, stop.

'..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! Go to the bedroom!

'They have only one alternative left.

'It's time to contact Nanny .'

HEAD NANNY: This is Nanny . Can I help you?

NARRATOR: '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.

NARRATOR: 'Parents of America, help is on the way.'

Daddy's here!

Daddy, Daddy!

Who's your nanny?

'Tonight...' - Girls, what do you want to drink?

What do you want? Iced tea?

- I want chocolate milk. - Are you done with this?

'The Henry kids treat their home like a full-service hotel.'

STELLA: You're like this maid.

You fetch, you carry, you bring, you pick up.

Each one of the children like to be served.

'But the sweet life has a downside.'

Eurgh!

- D'you think we have any rules? - I don't think we do.

- There are no rules. - We don't have rules.

CRASH

You brush a seven-year-old's teeth?

Yeah.

'Can Nanny Stella make these children act their age?'

What are they expected to do? Nothing.

I want my mom!

This makes me feel almost like a bad parent.

'That's next on Nanny .'

SINISTER MUSIC

BOY: No!

WHINING: I wanna stay here!

- Come on, unlock the door. - Whatever.

MUM: All right, stop! Stop, please.

My name is Allison and I work part-time in a school.

My husband, Mike, is years old.

We have been married for years.

Sometimes, people will think the house is crazy

because the kids are loud.

Yeah!

They think there's a full house load of them, and not only three.

- All the kids are crazy. - Give me that.

Now stop. Calm down.

- Eurgh! - Wanna tussle?

DAD: Jacqueline is .

MOM: Jacqueline, who's the oldest,

she is high maintenance. Her biggest issue is

her getting ready and dressing. I go in and pick out her outfit

and it comes down to a fight every day.

You said I could wear the sweatsuit!

It's all t*nk tops.

The most irritating part is because we usually end up late.

Why is everybody whining?

Ten minutes, we have.

Go.

Unless you're just here to antagonise your sister.

Cassandra is the wild one in the house.

Ow!

CRASH

- Stop! - Cassandra can easily tune out.

No talking from me!

You could talk to her, "Cassandra. Cassandra."

And it could be three, four, five times,

and then it gets to, "Whaaat?"

You have some schoolwork that you didn't finish to get done.

Don't like doing homework!

MOM: Michael, who's the baby, is six.

Michael is always treated as a baby.

Doesn't know how to tie his shoes.

We've moved on to Velcro because I'm tired of tying his shoes!

You have to brush your teeth.

Michael is on his video games all day.

Michael gets a little annoyed when you ask him to stop.

No!

I gotta get new shoes, come on.

- Come on. - No!

Bedtime with Michael is a nightmare.

He has to fall asleep in our bed.

I go to sleep in my mommy and daddy's bed because I'm scared!

MOM: In order to fall asleep, he needs the TV running,

just to have some light, I guess, in the room.

And to hear something, so he watches the news.

We want to have our bed back.

Each of the children, I think, knows how far they can go

and how much I will take.

I don't always listen to Mom...

- Stop, calm down. - ..because she annoys me.

I'm not doing homework.

Yes, you are, you're going to do the ones that are here.

MOM: The biggest reason that my children behave badly

is because they know they never will have a punishment.

MIKE: I'll take away your games, come on.

NO!

DAD: If I give them a punishment,

it's like I'm going to get more aggravated by them screaming

and yelling than just to say, "Forget it, guys."

It's late. Good, get dressed. You've been up here a long time.

Go. Five minutes, let's go.

It's easier to say, "Good, fine,"

and you don't have to hear screaming, basically.

OK, get that gum out. Go. Go! I need you to throw it out.

HE SHOUTS

MOM: Do you think we have any rules

- in this house? - I don't think so.

There are no rules to follow.

- No. - Give it to me.

- Give! - Stop!

I find it easier, if I want something done, to do it myself.

I don't do any chores, but my mom does it for me.

The problem is that each one of the children like to be served.

It's coming.

MOM: They'll get their tray in front of them

so I get their breakfast ready, I put it in front of them.

I absolutely feel like they do not respect me and my husband.

- I like regular iced tea. - I only got one cup.

- No! - You're going with your father!

No, I don't wanna!

The kids have driven me so far that I definitely have been in tears

out of frustration, madness.

HOWLING

MOM: I called Nanny because I'm done.

I can't yell at them any more,

I can't get them to do what they're supposed to be doing.

'Like, I've definitely had it.'

Stop using that word! And I'm not kidding you.

These pushover parents are being

pushed aside by their children.

Nanny Stella, I'm sending you to the Henry family

to show them who's supposed to be in charge.

- Hello. - Hello, how are you?

Nice to meet you, I'm Nanny Stella.

I'm Allison, come on in.

STELLA: Hello. CHILDREN: Hello.

- Good morning. - Hello.

Meeting Nanny Stella was exciting

cos I wanted to see what she was like.

What happens today is you have to pretend I'm not here.

Then what I do is I take some notes in my nanny book,

and then I see what I can help you with while I'm here.

STELLA: So, Dad leaves for work and Mum starts the breakfast

while the kids play on their game systems.

- Mine d*ed. - He d*ed, your player.

Michael, how come we always have...?

MOM: You gonna eat in there today?

Or you wanna come and put it on the TV?

Girls, what do you want to drink? I know Michael, what he wants.

- Jac? - I want chocolate milk.

STELLA: I quickly got the impression

that mum Allison is a maid, she's a servant.

All right, girls, yours is out there.

I was really shocked. Breakfast for the two girls is in front of the TV.

And breakfast for Michael is in front of the videogames,

but the thing that shocked me the most was,

they weren't given cutlery.

They ate their breakfast with their fingers.

MOM: Girls, finish up. In a little while,

we're gonna get dressed, to go maybe to the store.

Are you done with this?

I'm taking the girls and you're next.

- No! - Yes, you are.

STELLA: Getting the children changed to head out

already seems like a challenge.

What are you looking for?

Where did all those sweatpants go that I got?

In the drawer!

STELLA: Jacqueline didn't want to get dressed,

didn't want to go out, and there was a lot of muttering under her breath.

If we're just going to the store, it doesn't have to be fancy.

STELLA: Mum picks out the clothes for everybody

and even brings Michael's downstairs

so he doesn't have to leave his video games.

Do you always pick his clothes out for him, Allison?

For Michael? Oh, yes.

- Really? - It's just easier.

I brush his teeth and do his hair here,

the girls usually go downstairs...

- You do what? - Brush his teeth...

You brush a seven-year-old's teeth?

Yeah. Well, he actually will be seven next month.

He's jacking up his age a little bit.

STELLA: Mum Allison treats the children like they're helpless.

Like, she doesn't expect them to do age-appropriate things.

Are you done with this? Finish this.

HE WHINES

Don't throw them.

Come on. Take this.

- Do you want...? - No!

All right, then, I'll take it away.

Let's go put your clothes on.

WORDLESS WHINING

What?

I don't think you should whine like that.

I don't want to go to the store!

STELLA: It was time to go out

and Michael locked himself in the bathroom.

Is that because he doesn't want to get dressed?

Yeah, he doesn't want to go out.

STELLA: What surprised me about this

was that she just took it in her stride.

It was as though this was the norm and, to me, it was ridiculous.

Unlock the door.

- Not going... - Michael...

Mommy, I don't wanna go to the store.

Unlock it.

Come on.

Come on.

STELLA: Michael finally lets Mum in to get him changed.

MOM: Why do you hate going to the store so much?

MICHAEL: Because I never get to do anything!

STELLA: But they are still nowhere near ready to leave.

- Neither one of you are dressed? - You didn't iron my clothes...

STELLA: With Mum doing everything

for these kids, it's taking them forever to get out of the house.

MICHAEL WHINES

- What? - My tooth!

That's why I'm making sure I'm brushing them,

cos I don't want any cavities.

STELLA: A painful hour later and Mum has everybody ready

and they can finally leave.

That took forever, there's no concept of time in the house.

It's apparent to me that these children have no responsibility

to do anything for themselves.

STELLA: As soon as they get back from the store,

the kids head straight to their computer games.

So, what game are you playing right now, Michael?

- It's like a w*r. - It's a w*r?

Do you have to sh**t people?

Oh, really?

OK, so these have ratings on them, so that, there,

that T means for teen, does that mean for teen?

Are you a teenager?

Can you get me that other one out that we were just talking about?

- I think it was... Mature. - Mature? Wow.

STELLA: Michael was playing violent games.

I was actually quite disgusted.

- Michael? - What?

If you're a teen on these games,

how old do you have to be if you're a teen?

Do you know what the rule is? Or the guideline?

GIRL: and older, Michael.

Is it and older for the T?

- Yeah. - And what is it for the Mature?

and over.

STELLA GASPS

I think.

He was playing a Mature game and he's not even seven.

Your mum said .

Pop it out, Michael, you can't be playing it.

No, Mom!

Let's look, out of curiosity.

Let's see what you have, cos I don't even know what you have in there.

What was a shocker to me was that Allison was unaware of the content

of the games that Michael was playing.

This is T, but it's good. T... And T.

Three Teens. And lots of Es.

But this is the one you're always on.

I'm gonna have to slip this away when you're sleeping tonight.

Right.

STELLA: After seven hours of game playing,

Mum wants the kids to do homework.

Guys, we've been sitting for long enough.

We're gonna put it down and do some schoolwork.

I don't have any!

Yes, you do, Michael,

that you didn't finish in school on Friday. Go get your backpack.

STELLA: Getting the kids to do anything is a real struggle.

You did have a few things we didn't finish, Michael.

Look, I already did extra work...

MOM: Both of you, stop whining.

STELLA: Mum wants to supervise and the kids rudely talk back to her.

MOM: You're gonna go find two crayons, these colours.

Michael storms off to get these crayons,

and the next thing I hear are these expletives...

God, where the f*ck...?

From what I've observed so far,

I don't think the children respect their mother. Not at all.

STELLA: After homework,

Dad gets back from work and needs to go to the store.

MIKE: Michael,

do you want to take a ride with me?

Michael?

- Where are you going? - We have to go to the store.

I wanna stay.

Why don't you come to the store, we got to get some things

for Mommy, for dinner. - No, come on.

- Take a ride with me. - No!

I'm gonna get new shoes.

No, Mom, I don't wanna go!

STELLA: This six-year-old is so obsessed with his games,

he can't go out.

No, I don't wanna sit in the rain,

I don't wanna go!

You would've thought that World w*r III had broken out.

Michael threw a huge tantrum.

Jac!

- Jac! - It's my turn!

MICHAEL WAILS

He's so addicted to those video games,

it's frightening.

Michael!

Then let me drive!

No!

- Michael, let's go. - No.

- Come on. - You know what?

I'm gonna do something I've never done before. This is over.

Go sit in the other room. Go.

Michael, it's over.

I'm not kidding, come on.

Come. Come on. Come.

He's a junkie, he's a video junkie.

All right, don't cry.

STELLA: Allison can't bear to see Michael upset and carries him off

like a two-year-old.

'Once Michael has calmed down,

'Mum and Dad decide to snoop through Jacqueline's schoolbag.'

God, what a mess.

Jac, I took... I want to clean out your...

What are you doing with my schoolbag?

I don't care.

Because it looked like a b*mb!

So? No-one's going to look in my schoolbag.

Well, I did, and I'm your mother. I looked in your schoolbag.

There's a fine line between checking in on your kids

and finding out what they're up to,

as opposed to invading their privacy.

'Jacqueline was quite upset that her mum had rearranged her backpack.'

- Do you go through their stuff? - Through their backpacks? Yeah.

I like to look and make sure she's doing what she's supposed to.

Clean it out, because she keeps all that junk in there.

But would it not be feasible to ask her how she's doing, or...?

Like, she's years old.

She's more than capable of cleaning up her backpack herself.

Yeah.

Cos I just asked her, and she said...

She seemed surprised that you'd done that, that's why I asked her.

She doesn't like us going through it.

She doesn't like me going through it.

Right.

But I wanted to see what she had for homework, she said she had none.

So is that one of your traits as parents, to go...

You just said she doesn't like you going through her stuff.

Is that something that you think, as parents, you should do?

Go through your kids' stuff?

Yeah, I think so. I think I have a right.

With the phone and the computer, monitoring what they're doing

and who they're speaking to, yeah.

So, do you have a trust issue with the kids?

No, I just think today there's so much they can get involved in.

Especially with the phone and before,

when you asked about the computers,

she's always texting on the phone...

You go through her phone when she's not looking?

Totally.

One thing that's giving me big cause for concern

is the double standards

of the policing of Michael and the girls.

You know, with the girls, they check the computer,

they check the text messages.

But with Michael,

nobody's checking what game he's playing, what rating it is,

you know? There's double standards.

STELLA: Michael's bedtime, and he's put directly

into his parents' bed for the night.

OK, put the TV on for a little bit.

STELLA: Mum is using these electronics to babysit her children.

All right?

STELLA: I've seen enough of this lazy parenting style -

it's time to sit these parents down.

STELLA: Can we have a minute? MIKE: Sure.

One of my biggest observations

is that on some levels,

you're keeping Michael very young.

He doesn't pick his own clothes, he doesn't brush his own teeth,

doesn't brush his own hair.

You have this attitude to him where you keep him young,

and then you have this attitude

where he's allowed to play -year-old video games,

yet you can't expect him to put on his own socks.

One of the things that blew me out of the water today

was his obsession.

- No! - It's my turn!

I have never, ever seen anybody as obsessed or have extreme behaviour

with video games as with Michael.

I mean, that's something he loves to do.

You tread on eggshells around him.

I'm not convinced that you see the enormity

of the situation.

You have all these electronics in your house

that are babysitting your kids.

I don't know, it's just easier, faster. I don't know.

I think that's the point. It's easier and faster.

The other thing that was a big concern for me today

was you can't get out of the house in ten minutes, and by my count,

it took you an hour to get out the door.

Why is it not feasible that you can say to your children,

"We are going to leave in ten minutes and you need to be ready."

By enabling your children, you're disabling them.

You're making them helpless.

You're like this maid, this servant.

You fetch, you carry, you bring, you pick up.

What are they expected to do? Nothing!

You don't give them any responsibility.

I can fix these problems, but the remedies aren't going to be easy.

Your kids are not going to like what I'm going to suggest.

You've got to be ready. If you're not ready, don't sign on.

STELLA: I'm ready to lay down the new family rules,

but I'm pretty sure that these kids are not going to like my changes.

So, in here, Nanny's bag of tricks,

I have...

..this.

Do you know what this is?

- A book. - A book of what?

Um, rules?

MOM: They are absolutely no rules

for any of my children I think at this point.

And I think that is our biggest problem.

The first rule is...

"Act Your Age."

What do you think that means, Jacqueline?

Act how old you are,

don't act like you're a baby, or something?

So do you think a -year-old girl can brush her own hair?

- Yeah. - I feel that I probably

do baby them a little bit too much.

This also means act your age...

Michael, this is for you.

Those video games are way too old for you.

Seven-year-old boys

have no business playing games for -year-olds.

MICHAEL: Nanny Stella, she's mean.

Cos she's given us annoying rules.

OK, "Rewards Are Earned."

Do you know what rewards are?

A reward is something you earn when you do something good.

Cos you guys have a lot of stuff

that you just get, you don't earn it.

For example, those video games

and the time on those laptop computers.

They're going to have to start being earned.

They're just not your right

that you can just be on a video game for eight hours.

"Respect One Another."

- No! - My turn!

God, where the f*ck...?

When you're fighting and you're not sharing

and not being nice to each other, it's not very respectful, is it?

I can be nice to my mom and dad,

but I can't be nice to my sisters.

Is everybody OK with that?

I have one of these

for three children.

This one is "brush your teeth".

This one is "brush your hair".

This one is "pick your clothes".

Do you think you're capable of that?

Does Mum think she's capable of letting you do that?

- Yes. - Yeah?

Because if you don't, there's no video games

and no laptop computers.

If you brush your teeth, by yourself,

without being hassled to do it,

you earn ten minutes of video time,

or ten minutes of computer time.

I need you guys to do me a favour.

Can you go get me all your controllers, Michael,

and you guys get me your laptop computers?

DAD: Go get them. MOM: Upstairs.

STELLA: All your controllers for all your games.

Michael didn't react very well at all to taking his games away.

I don't want a reward!

MOM: Just let's see what she has to say, come on.

Come on.

DAD: I didn't think Michael was gonna cry like he did,

I figured he was going to be annoyed.

I don't want a reward.

Thank you, sweetheart. I'm going to give them back.

- I was giving the remotes to her. - You did a really good jo... Oh.

Come here.

Come here, turn around.

He was really, really upset.

In fact, he was heartbroken.

Michael, when you earn your time on the boards,

I will give them back for the hour, so this is where

Nanny Stella shows Mum and Dad how she would do things.

Michael needs to be shown that there are many more things you can do

and play with that are just as fun as video games.

You've got a closet full of stuff!

You'd think I'd taken away every toy that you had.

STELLA: Hopefully, getting Michael interested in other toys will help

to combat his game addiction.

- Anybody want a drink? - Yeah.

What do you want?

Iced tea?

Or orange?

- Orange. - Orange juice?

STELLA: It's only been five minutes since I set up

the new house rules and already, the parents are back to their old ways.

- Dad, come back. - Sure.

What about "act your age"?

Are your children capable of getting their own drinks, or are you now

the second servant in this house? - No, they can get it.

I'm gonna straight out say that I did not listen to Stella's rules

on that one, because I just went and did what I normally do, basically!

I guess I didn't listen to the rules!

I got strike one on me!

Oh, look, she's squirming.

Jacqueline can't stand it that she has to get her own drink!

They were still doing the old behaviours, if not worse.

It's apparent to me that they're going to be tough nuts to cr*ck.

'I want to teach these parents that their children

'are capable of doing things by themselves,

'so I set up an arts and crafts activity.'

Have you done this before?

Do you know what to do?

MOM: It's fine, you guys love sand art, right?

Yeah, you have to tilt the dish a little bit, too.

Need some help with that, Michael?

- Are you having fun? - Mm-hm.

I'm having fun. 'It takes ten minutes to set up,

'and once the children are engaged, Mum can leave them to it.

CASSANDRA: I like to shake it up then.

JAC: Yeah.

Cool! Look at mine!

Oh, my God, look at Jac's!

This makes me feel almost like a bad parent,

because they loved this, they would do this all day.

I don't think you should feel guilty. It's a new awareness.

But it doesn't matter what you give them to do,

it could be baking cookies,

it could be peeling vegetables,

but the thing about that is all three of them are doing that

and they're not fighting.

'The activity doesn't create any work for Mum

'because the kids tidy up after themselves

'and earn some checks for their reward board.'

You've been a very good team.

Because you guys did clean up that big mess on the table, OK,

so Jacqueline gets a...

check.

You did a really good job of helping clean up the table, didn't you?

OK?

A check for you. That means, in essence,

you've actually earned minutes of video games

and computer time.

But I know your face is lighting up

and steam's coming out of your ears, Michael,

but this is what I would like to see.

I would like to see you get away with just one day

with no video games.

So I will... You can do it?

Yes! Gimme five! Yes!

But I'll tell you what I'll do.

I'll give you the extra minutes tomorrow.

'This family has a big problem with getting out of the house on time,

'and it's mainly because Mum has to do everything for her kids.

You need to make some of this easier on yourself.

They need some responsibility, Allison.

What you're doing is what you do for two-year-olds.

If they start doing what they're capable of doing,

you're gonna say, "I don't need an hour in the morning."

'I have a plan to help speed things up.'

Me and you, we're going to find the clothes that you're wearing

for school tomorrow.

- Can you wear that tomorrow? - Yes.

- Is that you? - Yeah.

See how easy that was?

I like to do things on my own,

like picking out my own clothes. Yeah!

So this is yours.

Let's go put it on the stool.

If your children have got their clothes out the night before,

or at least they're ready to go,

then it takes the hassle and aggravation out

of running around like chickens with no head the next morning.

'Michael has spent the last six years sleeping in his parents' bed

'with the TV on to stop him from being scared.'

Tell me again what you're scared of.

- The dark? - Yes, and my closet.

What scares you about your closet?

Do you think there's monsters in there, or something?

Do you want me to get a bottle of special ingredients that I have

to get rid of them? - What's that?

Oh, yeah, you just wait there!

You just wait there.

If you've got children that are nervous, they're scared,

my trick is monster spray, and that simply would be

a little bit of water, a little bit of lavender.

Tell the children that the monsters wouldn't like this spray,

but because it's lavender,

it's very calming and it actually helps you go to sleep.

What does that say?

"Michael's monster spray" with a smiley face.

Right, so what I would do is put a little on here,

then I would rub it over here on your bed, like this.

OK? So they won't come anywhere near your bed.

And then,

I'll rub it around the door, like this.

Right? Anywhere else you think they might come

that I need to put my special spray?

When you go to bed tonight,

you're gonna have your new lights on, we'll leave this door open,

this light will be on, there'll be nothing to be scared about.

Are we gonna try it?

OK, are we gonna shake, or are we gonna have a high-five?

Yes!

That monster mist, it's good, cos it keeps away all the monsters.

'After Michael's room gets monster-proofed,

'he gets ready for bed all by himself for the first time ever.'

- Good. - Good? OK.

Here, bud.

I'm gonna pass it to you, right here.

Here's your soap for your hair.

Check, make sure you're doing good.

OK, good.

'Michael is put to bed and the TV is replaced by a book

'to help settle him for the night.'

- You're gonna read to me, right? - "Biscuit sees the baby's bunny.

"Biscuit wants to meet the baby."

'And then Allison left the room...'

Are you OK with them lights?

All right, good night.

See you tomorrow.

MICHAEL: See you tomorrow.

He stayed in his room by himself in his own bed. I think Mum and Dad

were really surprised.

They kept waiting for him to get up, but he didn't.

'Ye of little faith!'

'Today, I'm going to leave these parents to enforce the rules

'by themselves.

'Dad has already left for work, which leaves Mum to take charge.'

Morning!

- Good morning. - How are you?

- Good, how are you? - I'm good.

So, I'm going to step back and see the morning unfold.

'I have given Allison the challenge

'of getting out of the house in minutes.'

Time to get up.

Come on, time to get up.

'With these kids doing things

'for themselves, it should be a lot easier than before.'

We're gonna try today... Wait, wait.

We're going to try today... Right? We're gonna try and make our beds.

You think you could do that?

Even if Mommy has to help you, you try?

'The more chores the children do,

'the more time they'll earn on their beloved games systems.'

Good.

'But it doesn't take long before Mum takes over.

'Allison's morning'

reminded me of the first day of observation.

Michael, you have to pass the remote over.

You'll get no TV at all at this rate.

I like to be down here.

- Who's having what to drink? - She's getting them organised,

she hasn't learnt anything.

Here's your drinks.

I think this is regular orange juice.

It was ridiculous.

It was so frustrating. She just didn't get it at all.

This is painful to me to watch.

You are still the servant you were yesterday,

even though I've asked you not to be.

We're doing it backwards?

I think you should be utilising your time more.

It took them ten minutes to meander down.

You were still deciding what to give them for breakfast.

Why are they not sitting at a breakfast table

and having breakfast? Why do they have to watch TV?

What's going on with you guys? You're like lazybones.

- They definitely are. - But you're making them lazy.

I don't get it. I'm having a hard time,

I'm not getting it.

'After pulling up Allison on her false start, the kids begin trying

'to do things for themselves.'

OK, mix it in your hands, like Mommy does.

Up, like this.

You gonna try and do your hair today?

No, I'm not.

'It soon becomes clear

'that these kids can't do anything for themselves.'

I was trying very hard not to step in.

But my frustrations got the better of me,

'because Michael did not know how to put his shoes on...'

The problem you're having is you've got to teach.

He'd never, ever had anybody show him how to tie his shoelaces.

You loop it, do you see that?

OK, and then you take the other piece over,

and you pull it through.

'I don't think Allison realises

'how much she's holding her children back by not teaching them

'the vital skills they need for life.'

It takes practice, though.

You won't get it the first time, you have to keep practising.

This was about Mum and Dad's attitude,

not the behaviour of these kids.

'It's time for Cassandra to do her homework.'

You know what you have to do, right? The homework you didn't do.

Yes. Mom, look what you just made me do, can you stop talking...?

All right, so I'm going to get it out.

Stop talking for me!

'And as usual, it's a struggle.'

All the pages are already done.

MOM: This was a good practice test for your test tomorrow.

We'll sit down together and do it.

Together? I can do it by myself.

I think it'll be a good idea if we go through it together.

You have to watch over me?

Cassandra, how does it make you feel

that your mum won't let you do your homework by yourself?

Cos you've got a grumpy face on.

I don't get all the right answers.

Because you think your mum's gonna help you with the answers,

is that what happens?

Is it very respectful that you're sitting here

and supervising her and not giving her a chance?

If I don't sit here with her,

she doesn't seem to listen when I tell her to show her work,

"Show me where you got things." So when we go back over it,

I say, "Where's the work you have to show me?"

Is it not feasible that she could sit here and do her homework

and then you could check it?

This is what we're gonna do.

We'll set the timer for minutes.

Mum's gonna see where you're up to in minutes and how it's going.

That's what's called a compromise.

Let's get the timer. OK, so, Mum,

she gets her minutes and you get minutes reprieve.

'A timer will help Cassandra focus on getting her work done

'and will also show Mum

'that she doesn't need to supervise constantly.'

So, how did we do?

That was easy, I didn't need to do work.

You're right. She did good.

She did finish it all.

Does it make you feel better that your mum let you do your homework,

without sitting next to you?

OK, good job.

'The kids are starting to try,

'even though they're being limited by their mum,

'but it's only fair to reward the kids for their efforts.'

OK, Michael Henry.

Did you put on your clothes?

Yes.

Your mum brought them down for you! Actually,

it's not your fault, it was your mum's. I'm gonna give it to you.

Did you brush your own hair?

- Tried. - Well, that was a very good try.

You're allowed one hour on your game,

but listen, I need to make something very clear.

No Teen, no Mature,

E for everyone.

All right?

'Michael is earning time on his video games,

but he's not earning back a Mature -year-old game.

I might even take that with me when I leave.

'Dad comes home for dinner and, without the games to distract them,

'the whole family eats together at the table.'

Oh, he can't have onions!

Oh, yeah!

'The kids are eating with their fingers

'and they haven't even been given knives to use.'

OK, I have to ask you a serious question.

Why is the only person at the table with a Kn*fe the mother?

Shall I tell you why?

Cos Mother cuts everybody's food.

Somebody needs to educate me, honestly,

because I'm really confused.

What is it? Are people scared

their kids are going to s*ab somebody with a Kn*fe

at the dinner table? - Or hurt themselves.

More hurting themselves.

Unless somebody teaches you how to cut with a Kn*fe and fork,

then, yeah, maybe you are going to hurt yourself with a Kn*fe.

- Right. - I don't want to jump on you,

but a -year-old is capable of cutting that food.

Honestly, you're underestimating what your kids can and can't do.

MOM: She felt like when we set the table,

kids should even have a Kn*fe,

at the place setting, which we never do.

Show me that you know how to cut.

OK. No. Like this, see?

MOM: After seeing Cassandra, that is something...

- Yeah, we should look at... - ..we have to work on.

It's not the norm, I'm telling you now, it's not the norm

that seven-year-olds or -year-olds can't cut with a Kn*fe and fork.

I honestly don't think I'm going to get through to Allison

in the time that I have with her. And, honestly,

I'm not sure that three weeks, four weeks, would be enough.

'I had to sit down with Allison, I couldn't do anything else.'

I needed to get to the bottom of it.

The first rule that we set in place was, "Act Your Age," yeah?

I'm still not seeing it. So what's the hang-up, why can't you let go?

Is this your purpose in life?

Well, I do like them to look top-notch...

I commend you for wanting your kids to look good.

But why can't you let them look good by themselves?

I know what I'm gonna say, but...

Say it!

They obviously can't do it.

Can you understand how stifling that is for somebody?

No, I do agree, cos I know they do feel that way.

It's about instructing and teaching, not doing.

Making them helpless.

I saw it, I see it.

With the things that, now, I see them trying to do,

and I'm like, "Oh, my God, they should be doing certain things."

I really do want to see it change,

I think it's important that they feel empowered in their home.

It's breaking the habits of a lifetime, I understand that.

But they're gonna be bigger problems later down the line.

I really am gonna try, cos I do want to change a lot of these things.

- Are you on board? - Yes.

Awesome.

MOM: 'If we taught them, they really would know how to do it,'

but we just didn't think they were ready, I guess.

'After our talk, I'm pleased to see Allison finally teaching.'

Take your hands right here, and all you have to do is fold this in half,

OK? Just watch me, then I'll let you try.

One in half, one here. That's it.

- Can I do it? - OK?

- Good. - Yeah.

- I don't want to. - You just did it!

And then fold it in half again.

That's all you have to do - and that's folded.

'Dad comes home for dinner

'and encourages the kids to help set the table.'

Come here, Cass, help me.

Where do I put these?

Just put one, two more in the middle and I'll take the other two.

If you put them on the spare chair.

OK.

MOM: Good job, you guys set the table.

'Mum is really showing progress by taking a step back,

'but letting the children use knives at dinner

'is going to be the toughest test yet.

- Is that it? - Like this.

'Mum has finally given them utensils

'and is teaching them to use them safely.'

Backwards, like this.

'Mum is still nervous,

'so has given them blunt knives to cut their steak.'

This is hard.

They're so plasticky.

It is hard, that's a butter Kn*fe.

MUM: You want to try? Shall I sit right here with you?

I cut pieces off.

JAC: Yeah, we noticed, Michael.

I nearly fainted!

I think that it was a huge step for Allison.

Beautiful job. Who would have known it?

Michael Henry can...

Michael Henry can cut his own meat!

I did it!

'Success at last!

'All these kids needed was to be shown how.'

OK, put it...

'Now that this mum has got it,

'the kids are learning to do things for themselves.'

Are you going to help me carry up some clothes?

Yep. Oh, you want to help carry up your clothes, too, Michael?

'The children are finally empowered and learn lots of new skills.'

Good job, Michael. You're doing very good.

'Which is a complete turnaround compared to before.'

JAC: I kind of like our new rules,

because now we get to do things on our own.

- All right? - Mm-hm.

Couple more minutes, I think.

Excellent job.

Very good, Cass.

'And because the kids earn game time every time they help out,

'they're more than willing to lend a hand - especially Michael.'

You get nanny points today.

I cannot believe you haven't played that video game.

You played for eight hours the other day. Eight hours!

I'm so impressed, I'm not kidding.

'Limiting the game time

'has really helped curb Michael's video game addiction

'and it's easy to get him to leave the house without a tantrum.'

We're gonna go out, let's go.

Shut it off, though, don't leave it on.

The Mature video game,

took it away, it's gone, until he's .

'With the children being capable of fundamental life skills,

'my time here is up.'

I would actually like to stay and hang out with you

for a little while longer.

I've actually had quite a bit of fun,

which doesn't normally happen!

LAUGHTER

I'm a little sad about saying goodbye to the Henry family,

but they've got it. I'm happy.

Are you all going to stay on track?

You, too, Cassandra? What about you, Michael?

What about those video games? Are you going to earn your time?

- Yes! - Oh, good answer!

They turned the corner very, very quickly.

Mum and Dad, keep up the good work.

You'll see better results.

I think I have known for a while

that I needed to start giving them more responsibility,

but coming from somebody out of the house

who doesn't really know me and telling me, "This is not normal,

"the kids should be doing something more," definitely has helped.

Don't be the problem, be the solution.

I think that the future for the Henry children is really rosy.

Thanks, Jacqueline.

It were a pleasure.

- Thank you. - Thank you.

You, too, Cassandra.

I think they're great kids,

I think they're smart.

Stay on track, right?

I think if their parents keep them on track,

they'll be phenomenal adults.

Good luck! Bye, babe!

- Take care! - Bye, Stella!

'Now that these parents are helping to teach their children

'to have the skills they need to be independent,

'they'll be able to flourish as they grow into happy adults.'