02x02 - The Abner Family

[bunniefuu]

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

You're gonna be sorry.

GIRL SCREAMS

'Kids completely out of control...'

Give me the Kn*fe. CHILD SCREAMS

'..and taking over the household.'

I'm the boss!

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

How was I to know I was gonna have three kids in two years?

'They're in need of help.'

Shut up, everyone!

'They only have one alternative left.

'It's time to contact Nanny .'

PHONE RINGS

Hello, this is Nanny .

'We've gathered a team of world-class nannies

'from all over the globe. Each week, from Nanny Central,

'they will watch a video of a family in crisis...'

SHE SCREAMS

'..and decide which nanny is best suited to help.

'They will then have one week to take our families from living hell

'to a family bliss.'

- Give me my life back. - It's mine!

'Can these families be saved?'

I don't love you!

It's an emotional roller-coaster.

Unless you get this right, it's all gonna fall to pieces.

If you think you can do a better job, get on with it.

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

ALL: Nanny's here!

Nanny's here!

'Tonight on Nanny ,

'Michelle Abner has lost control of her five kids...'

THEY SHOUT '..or is it six?'

- Yeah! - Dennis is my sixth kid.

'He's the troublemaker.'

CHILDREN SCREAM

I'm a get-her-done type of guy.

'While Mom plays it safe...' Go get 'em!

Sometimes she's a killjoy.

'..Dad, Dennis, takes the kids on Mr Toad's wild ride.'

Yeah!

That's child endangerment.

'Can Nanny Deb keep Dennis from being a menace?'

I've been doing this for years.

Every time you put them there, you risk their life.

'It's the Dukes of Hazzard...'

Whoo-oo!

'..tonight, on Nanny .'

Whoo! Let's play!

Whoo-oo!

DENNIS YELLS

Car's coming.

My name is Michelle Abner,

'I have five kids.'

SHE YELLS

Six, if you wanna count my husband.

HE YELLS

Whoo-oo!

Yeah!

'My name is Dennis Abner.'

I'm a get-her-done type of guy.

ALL YELL

Kids are only kids once.

Let's have some fun.

Whoo! GIRLS YELL

It's chaotic, having five kids.

My kids are loud and crazy and wild, like me a little bit.

When we get in the car, they fight and scream.

THEY SHOUT

I'm lucky I haven't been in a car wreck.

THEY SHOUT

We're loud and proud.

HE HONKS HORN LOUDLY

- I think it's great. - It's awful.

SHE YELLS

I hope they keep going. I hope they never lose that feature.

Hang on! Oh...

Uh-oh.

'Hopefully that continues on a long time.'

And this Abner family tree can just keep right on rocking.

Run, Emily, go!

Go, Emily, go!

MICHELLE: 'Emily, she is .'

She's making that transformation to being a lady.

Tell her you'll call her back, OK?

'She's on the phone with her friends.'

Dad's kinda losing his grip there.

Got ya!

MICHELLE: 'Bridget is eight.'

Run, Stick, run!

We nicknamed her Stick cos she looks like a weed. She's a stick.

When she turns sideways, you could miss her.

Bridget is a very picky eater.

She's all stick.

DENNIS: 'And then come the Truck.

'We call her the Truck'

because she ran through the dry wall one time, at the end of the hall,

cos she couldn't stop running.

Rachel can be very charming, very sweet.

Ow!

But on the other hand, she can be really, really bad.

THEY SHOUT When you cross the Truck...

- Boing! - Ah!

..she's gonna get it on.

Break 'em up!

'Right after Rachel come the Heidi...

SHE YELLS

'..which we call Hondo.'

And Hondo is a get-her-done type of girl.

MICHELLE: Heidi does not like having her hair brushed, at all.

Stop it!

Heidi's like a wild boar.

SHE SCREAMS You can't control her,

she's non-controlling.

We pretty much do what Heidi says.

DENNIS: 'And then come "Gunner."

Jacob "Gunner". And he's a spitting image, I think, of me.

'I think he's gonna be all right,'

but with three girls, that kinda worries me.

Going to Mommy!

'Is he gonna be timid like Mom,'

or is he gonna come on over to the other side?

You're a Mommy's boy.

MICHELLE: 'Dennis is my sixth kid.'

He may be the oldest, but I believe he's the worst.

I'm absolutely the problem.

Whoo-oo!

I'm absolutely the problem and I love it.

Hey, look who I got.

Dennis puts ducks in the pool.

Go get 'em, Quackers.

Dennis makes all the kids rowdy.

Dennis is a troublemaker.

Whoo-oo!

Michelle needs to just quit being such a stickler.

Slow down!

She's a killjoy.

Let me have Jacob.

These kids are a ball of fire,

and I'm gonna keep sparking them.

Ah!

Let's knock her out of the tree.

I don't need a sixth kid.

I need a husband, a father.

I need someone to help me with the kids.

HE CLUCKS

Why just sit and discipline and yell

and treat the kids that way?

I just wanna have fun.

- Heidi, you wanna go fast? - Yeah!

No!

Whoo!

HE HONKS HORN

I don't need Nanny .

Nanny, Nanny! You're in trouble!

I don't. I don't have no problems.

Whoo-oo!

Dennis lets the kids get away with everything.

I hope he gets in trouble.

Is that what you want?

Michelle, she thinks we're off the rocker now,

and she wants Nanny .

THEY ALL TALK OVER EACH OTHER

Feels like all I do is cook all day and do dishes.

Just leave it. Mom will get it. Come on, let's go.

'If my wife thinks one woman,'

from across the big pond, is gonna change me, she's crazy.

So bring the nanny.

- Oh, stop! - Stop, stop, stop!

CRASH Oh!

You OK? You bleeding?

Bring her down! I'm ready to go.

No blood, no foul. Let's get it on.

What?

Is it a game?

So what do you think, ladies?

Is Dad a real person or a cartoon character?

I thought that family packed up their things

and moved to Beverly Hills.

Those kids are adorable, but I've got one question.

How old is the big one in the funny hat?

Very well put, Nannies.

Because of your love for large families,

I'm choosing Deborah to go and help the Abners.

I just hope you come back in one piece!

DEB: 'It's come to my attention that the Abner family

'have some problems.

'Mum, Michelle, is overrun by her five kids...'

THEY YELL DENNIS: Hey, put it there!

'..and Dad, Dennis, only adds fuel to the fire.'

Yeah!

'It certainly sounds like a wild week lies ahead.'

SHE KNOCKS

Dennis! Can you get the door?

Hi, I'm Nanny Deb.

- You must be Mr Abner. - It's about time.

Come in, I want you to meet my family.

'When I opened that door and Nanny Deb was standing there,'

I thought, "Man, the circus is in town!"

Hello!

My name's Nanny Deb. What's your name?

My kids are like, "Oh, my gosh!"

The plan for today is, you have to pretend

that I'm invisible.

Cos I'm just gonna sit around and watch everybody.

'I could just feel the hairs on my neck raise,'

cos I knew she was thinking, "This guy's no good."

So just what are you gonna be able to do for us, Nanny?

Depends on what you're gonna be able to do for me.

I think we're in pretty good shape.

OK.

DENNIS: 'Right off the bat,'

we had a battle brewing.

THEY YELL

DEB: 'The first thing I notice is that Dad

'loves to have fun with his kids, which is certainly refreshing.'

Whoo-oo!

Here we go... Whoa!

'Unfortunately, when it comes to having fun...'

'..safety takes a back seat.'

Hang on!

I'm looking over and seeing Nanny Deb giving these eyebrow raises,

and them eyes twirling around in her head.

I'm ready to say, "Hey, this is how it's done here."

Help him out, Em.

DEB: 'And to make matters worse,

'Dad adds one-year-old Jacob to the mix.

'Thankfully, Mum pulls Jacob out of harm's way.'

Ah, chicken! Mom's a party pooper.

'I was absolutely shocked.'

Here was this dad demeaning the mother, right in front of 'em.

Mom's a spoilsport.

THEY LAUGH

'And as the day wears on,

'the issue of safety comes up again and again.'

The railings had huge gaps between them.

Jacob, who's just started walking, actually holds on to these railings

and walks by the top of the stairs, constantly.

Giving kids a little fear for something,

I think that's one of the best safety tactics there is.

DEB: 'None of the doors in this house have been child-proofed.'

HE THUMPS DOWN

My heart was in my throat, half the day.

'I even saw Heidi put her fingers

'right by an electrical socket. The safety issues

in this family are nonstop.

Heidi!

There's always something going on.

Rachel!

OK, that's enough.

If something bad, like kids running down the hallway

and slamming the door, and fingers getting chopped off happened,

then you start thinking safety.

But if it's not happened, you don't worry about it.

THEY YELL

DEB: 'These kids have no idea what it means to be safe.

'Case in point, when Heidi locks herself in the bathroom,

'Rachel gets a Kn*fe to open it.'

Rachel's smarter than a lot of kids.

'She's able to get that lock released with a butter Kn*fe.'

Ah-ha!

Without a doubt, this is the most unsafe home I've ever seen.

'And by early afternoon, it becomes apparent

'that everything is a big joke to Dennis the Menace...'

THEY SCREAM

'..even his wife's attempts to discipline the children.'

Do it, do it!

No, you're gonna get hurt.

Do it.

SHE YELLS

DENNIS: 'When Michelle's nagging,'

or just trying to throw her

discipline around, that's fuel for the fire.

You're gonna break your leg again.

Do it! SHE YELLS

Dad was, like, egging them on and egging them on.

Do it.

THEY GIGGLE

You're gonna give Nanny a heart att*ck.

No backing her up, no encouraging the kids to stop.

Do it!

'While the house itself is extremely unsafe,

'when playtime is taken outside, the danger only escalates.'

MICHELLE: Be careful. DENNIS: OK, give it some gas.

These kids were all out on the street,

all without helmets. It was like an accident waiting to happen.

Turn towards me. Turn this way.

- Oh, stop! - Stop, stop, stop!

CRASH Oh!

DEB: 'And sure enough,

'Heidi crashes right into the truck.'

No more go-kart.

You OK?

Are you bleeding? You're all right.

If you're not bleeding, I don't wanna hear it. Get back on.

No blood, no foul. Let's get it on.

If the blood ain't flowing, let's get back on and let's get going.

There you go, there you go!

DEB: 'I've seen enough examples of danger in this family

'for a lifetime, let alone a day.

'But nothing could prepare me for what comes next.'

Wait up! Wait up!

Wait up!

'Dad decided to take the kids

'on this three-wheel bike that he has.'

Gotta take a ride on the three-wheeler!

DENNIS: 'That three-wheeler's a ball.'

The kids all love it and I like to have fun with it.

MICHELLE: Slow down!

DENNIS: 'I've had some bad spills, but I know'

when to give it gas, when not to give it gas.

Anything could possibly happen, but you know what?

So far, so good.

DEB: 'When I saw Dennis endangering the lives of his children...

'..I literally couldn't catch my breath.'

Yeah!

It sickened me.

'None of these children have protection,

'and Rachel was barely holding on.

'I need to speak to Dennis,'

and I need to speak to Dennis now.

'Nanny Deb asked me to come in the kitchen, she wanted to talk to me.'

And there sat the devil.

'She was mad.'

You really scared the life out of me.

Kids die on those things all the time, and it's not safe.

That's light of the things we've done.

And that scares me. It really does.

Yeah, that's good times.

That's child endangerment, that's not fun.

DENNIS: 'You can call me what you want, endangering,'

but I'm not gonna stop. That's part of our fun.

This house is the most unsafe house that I've ever been in.

'And then she comes off with,'

"This is the most dangerous house I've ever been in."

These kids are out there, opening doorknobs with knives.

Going on go-karts without helmets.

Give it some gas, you're all right.

You're responsible for those kids, and they trust you.

They trust you to know what is safe and what is right.

And right now, they're not safe.

In your eyes, they're not safe.

They are not safe.

I think they're just fine.

DEB: 'If you want to risk your life, that's your business.'

But when you're risking your child's life, that's my business.

You know what? While I'm here,

we're gonna do it our way. We're gonna have as much fun as possible.

Like it or not.

DEB: 'I lost it.'

I absolutely lost it.

If you don't make me a promise right now,

that you will listen to what I'm saying about safety

and you will make a conscious effort,

I will walk out and you will never see me again. Right now.

'I thought, you know what?'

No. You know, back it up.

Right now.

Back it up, get this nanny, you know, helping us.

I promise. I'll listen to you.

OK?

- Yes, ma'am. - All right.

DENNIS: 'I honestly went from anger

'to, yeah, let's try. Let's try.'

OK?

- Yes, ma'am. - All right.

I'll see you later.

'But that don't mean,'

everything she does is exactly the way we're gonna do it.

'After a day of observation,

'it's clear that the Abner house is an accident waiting to happen.

'So today, I'm giving the family a new set of rules.'

Does anybody know what this is?

A book.

It's called The Nanny Book.

She brought this big book in with "the new Abner family rules".

I thought, "Oh, here we go."

"Respect each other and respect Mum and Dad."

That alone would make the house much more peaceful.

CHILDREN SHOUT

Hey, quit it!

Oh... Ow!

Another rule is, "Safety comes before fun."

I know it was pointing right at me. I mean, I had the dagger

coming right at me.

Whoo-oo!

That's good times.

That's child endangerment. That's not fun.

'But you know what?'

You don't always plan fun here at the Abner house.

Daddy...

Mommy saved you.

Another Abner family rule is, "Everyone helps out."

DENNIS: 'Kids today, they're lazy.'

And if you don't instil a little motivation into 'em,

hey, they'll lay around on the couch all day.

And the other family rule is,

"This family is a team."

And Mum and Dad are the coaches.

I see you listen to Daddy,

but I have not seen anyone listen to Mummy yet.

When I'm not here, they just run over the top of my wife.

She goes right behind 'em like a hotel maid and does everything.

I have to open my nanny bag. Who wants to see what's inside?

'OK, Nanny Deb pulled out her bag and it's cute.'

I like that little bag. Like to have one just like it.

She's got a magic bag.

Inside my nanny bag are some jars.

This one says, "Bridget."

And inside the jars...

- ..are these. - Baseball?

Baseball.

MICHELLE: 'Emily plays baseball.'

We always watch her games.

And at the end of the week,

you can count the baseballs and trade them in

for a special treat that Mum and Dad decide you can do.

I'm thinking, "What?!"

Come on, you don't reward a kid

for doing things they should be doing already.

Over here, I have another surprise for the Abner family.

Do you see what these are?

Cos remember what the rule was?

Safety before fun.

DENNIS: 'And she handed each child a colourful helmet,

'which I thought was great. That one hit home good.'

The only things is, though, Nanny, I want a helmet too,

with my name on it.

Thank you, Nanny.

- Thank you. - You're welcome.

DEB: 'Our first order of business is plain.

'It's time to safety-proof this house.

For the kids' sake, I certainly hope Dennis is serious about it.'

OK, do you know what these things are?

You put it on your door just like this. Look.

And then, back up... Back up in here and we'll watch this.

Ready?

It stops somebody's fingers getting jammed in the door.

What is that? Come on, give me a break.

This is a home we live in, you know, this ain't Romper Room.

These are so Miss Heidi

doesn't put her fingers in the socket anymore.

What now?

'We installed Plexiglass on the railing,

'so that Jacob couldn't fall through.'

Babies, their heads are heavier than their bodies. Did you know that?

And if he leaned like this and his head went through,

he would fall and crash on the stairs.

And we don't want that.

When you start hanging Plexiglass,

you know, what is that?

We're gonna get her done, right, Nanny?

HE STARTS DRILL We're gonna get it done.

DENNIS: 'But I went ahead and put the glass up,

'screwed the screws into our railings, and I just thought,'

"Well, you know, I'll play along.

"When this lady leaves, we'll just trash this."

- Yep. - What do you think?

Do you think Jacob's gonna be good now?

He can't fall outta this.

He can't fit through that.

DEB: 'Dennis tells me he's on board, but like everything else,

'he obviously isn't taking me seriously.

'Why else would he leave a power drill out,

'for his little girls to play with?'

Bridget.

Ah!

DENNIS: 'Nanny Deb has made our house more safe'

for children to live in.

'Thank you, Nanny Deb.'

That's bull hooey, right there.

DEB: 'Now that the house is safety-proof,

'it's time to start implementing the reward system.

'Hopefully, everyone will try their best to earn their baseballs.'

Emily, what did you make?

You have to try the meat.

DENNIS: 'Nanny Deb was coaching us at dinner, and she thought,'

well, this is the perfect opportunity

to try her little nitwit ball scheme.

Hey, Stick, did you eat some steak?

DEB: 'Bridget's nickname, Stick, comes from the fact that'

she is as skinny as a stick.

And that comes from the fact that she's been allowed,

for eight years of her life,

to be very picky about what she eats.

Did you eat some steak?

OK, Nanny.

We're going back to the balls.

DEB: 'I get the feeling that Dennis is just playing with me.'

HE GASPS 'But as long as he follows my rules,

'he can play all he likes.'

She's just getting something to drink and then...

She plays that game every time,

getting something to drink.

Now we're going outside, then we're gonna forget about it.

Get over here now and let's try some of this.

Of course, Bridget, her eyes got real big

and she looked at it like, "No deal, I'm not eating this."

Why do you think you need to eat the meat?

So I can grow.

Right. In order for your body to build muscle,

you need to eat the protein.

And maybe... HE FLIPS LID OF JAR

..you might decide you really like it.

You never know. Bridget's eating the food. She's trying everything.

DENNIS: It's unbelievable. Bridget's eating food?

DEB: 'That was the first time Bridget's really tried food again

'in quite a long time, so I think Michelle was very impressed.

'And I think Dad loves it because, for Dad,'

it's sort of, you know, his gambling tool.

He holds that baseball, "What do you think?

"What do you think?" He uses it as a bargaining tool, constantly.

Everybody's sitting and trying it.

I'm very happy about that.

Maybe the ball and the cylinder trick, it might work.

So one up for the nanny.

'But you know what? We're gonna butt heads.

'That's all I can say.'

It's gonna be a full deal, right here, with the nanny.

ROOSTER CROWS

'Halfway through my week with the Abners,

'it's clear that Dad is not only one of the children,

'but the ringleader.'

Dad is a real Dennis the Menace.

'And that's never been more apparent than this morning.'

Michelle hates the chickens.

She hates me for bringing them in this house.

Rooster, rooster!

Rooster, rooster.

'Rooster, rooster.'

DEB: 'One of the few rules Mum has laid down is,

'no livestock in the house. So what does Dad do?

'He goads Emily into sneaking Foghorn Leghorn

'into the kitchen for breakfast.'

DENNIS CLUCKS

'Why would I get the chickens?'

Cos I know it would make Michelle very, very upset.

ROOSTER CROWS

'You know, that's fun.'

That's fun, to keep pushing the buttons

and getting my wife all wound up!

DEB: 'And when Mum catches them

'putting a leash and collar on the rooster...'

Not in the house. '..they just ignore her.'

'And that must change.'

You should have seen her face. It was beautiful!

DEB: 'Meanwhile, Bridget goes to fetch her favourite pet,

'Mr Wiggles.'

'And despite Mum's protests, the next thing she knows...'

..you've got Old MacDonald and his whole farm in this house.

Come here, chick, chick.

Emily...

Whoo!

That was the perfect example of how Dennis undermines me.

'We were right in the middle of having a good time,'

and she jumped in there to try to k*ll the moment.

Let her have the duck!

DEB: 'By constantly overruling his wife,

'Dennis sends a message loud and clear.

'What Mum says doesn't matter.

'And that leaves Mum where she is now, helpless.'

SHE SCREAMS

'And as lunchtime nears, the source of the children's utter disrespect

'for their mother becomes clear. It all stems from Dad.'

Mother!

DENNIS: 'When a drink is spilled'

or food is thrown on the floor, she'll clean it up.

What happened to Mom? Where's your mother at?

- You know, it's great. - If you're putting your plate

on her dirty feet, you're gonna eat off of it.

HE CHUCKLES

We call Michelle "the Geek" because she's a timid person, she's quiet.

Hopefully, them other three girls

don't turn out like that. Hope they're like me.

DEB: 'And later in the day,

'it becomes obvious that no-one in this family will give Michelle

'any respect...' You get up there. Hold on.

'..until she demands it.'

She's a nerd, you know. I've got a nerd in there.

You'll be up, right there.

That way you're outta the way, we can play this game.

Heidi, how did you get up there?

Daddy put me up.

Your daddy put you up?

Yeah, she's out of the way up there.

MICHELLE: 'The kids called me stupid, an idiot.'

I just let it go. I figure, it's not worth fighting.

DEB: 'Dennis sits their little girl atop a six-foot fence,

'her daughter calls her an idiot,

'and Michelle just lets it go?'

'Michelle is the voice of reason in this house,

'but she simply doesn't get heard.

'My goal is to get Michelle to become a really strong mother.'

I'd like to have a talk with you, alone.

- OK. - If that's OK.

DEB: 'She's gonna have to have the strength to override'

Dennis's decisions when it comes to safety.

The biggest problem is that you two

aren't working together with these kids.

So I really, really need you to be stronger with it.

OK.

'I should've known. As soon as I turn my back on him,

'Dennis drags the kids into yet another dangerous situation.'

DENNIS: 'Wait till the nanny sees 'em'

riding in the back of the truck. What's she gonna do then?

HE HONKS HORN

I think you're gonna have to turn around and be direct.

- Yeah, that makes... - You know?

So just turn and go, "You do not speak to me that way."

'I said to her, "You've gotta stand up for yourself.'

"If you feel it's right, it's right. These are your children.

Turn around and say, "Dennis, I mean it.

"This isn't safe to me."

Because then you're showing these girls

that you respect yourself too much to be treated that way.

OK. Yeah.

I can see why they would listen to that more, too. Yeah.

Find that voice and I think it'll make a big difference.

- All right. - Thanks a lot.

- All right. - All right.

'It's great to see Mum realise

'that her voice must be heard in the house.

'And chances are, it won't be long before she has to use it.'

DUCK QUACKS

'And sure enough, later in the afternoon,

'Bridget starts a bonfire in the backyard, all by herself.

'And when Dennis and Michelle finally come outside...'

Wow, you did good!

'..instead of reprimanding Bridget,

'Dad congratulates her.'

Way to go, kid.

Bridget, you do not start fires without me or Dad.

DENNIS: Did you build that like that?

- Mm-hm. - Wow!

That is smart.

It's dangerous.

You don't wanna get b*rned, do you?

That's genius, Bridget.

She built it just right.

'Well, Nanny's sitting there, rolling her eyes,

'wrinkling her nose, or whatever she does.'

But she done a darn good job and I was proud of her.

So with Nanny giving me the look, like, "What are you doing?"

'I don't even look at that.'

Someone big needs to be with you next time. OK?

See, sometimes Mom don't always know.

MICHELLE: When I did try to say something

to Bridget about it not being safe,

Dennis just blew it off

and said that the fire was a great fire.

She done good. A good job.

Yeah, it's a good fire, but...

You done a good job.

DEB: 'I couldn't believe it. I was shocked.'

"Good job, honey."

Genius, Bridget.

DEB: 'This week is almost over, and we're back to square one.

'Dennis doesn't listen to his wife.

'He doesn't listen to me.

'And his kids are once again extremely unsafe.

'I'm afraid I'm going to have to call Dennis out,

'once and for all, before it's too late.'

I cannot believe what just happened.

Excuse me?

When Bridget started a fire,

when you say that's not safe,

and then you say "good fire",

uh, I'm shocked. I don't understand where that came from.

What I'm trying to get across to you is,

you need to back her up when she says something.

Stop for a minute and listen.

She does have a point.

You need to be team leaders.

When you brush her aside, the kids are gonna brush her aside.

And second of all,

you need to make sure that the kids know

that you're there when they build those fires.

You know what?

She done it safely, she stacked the wood neatly.

Yeah, but she didn't do it safely

because you and I were not out there.

She was by herself, so...

DENNIS: 'Nanny Deb and my wife just went off,

'gave me the third degree,'

with two fists a-blazing, "You can't do that. Kids can't do that."

She should not be doing it without an adult.

If the wind blew a certain way, if something happened,

that kid would've been b*rned.

I thought Dennis was on board,

but after saying "good job" to Bridget for starting a fire,

'what was he thinking?'

You've really gotta make sure

that when he's blowing you off, "Ah, good fire",

that you can stand up for yourself

and your kids, because safety does come first.

Excuse me, Nanny. Excuse me.

Inside this house, she can take care of the things with the kids,

and teach them that.

But when we're outside these doors and we're on the outside,

I teach them things I feel they need to learn.

DENNIS: 'I'm sorry, Nanny Deb, but you might have been nannies'

in big homes, with people that have somebody to go build fires,

'but in this neck of the woods, we learn to do that.'

And, yes, that was a good fire.

She did it perfectly, just the way I've trained her,

to bring air underneath the fire,

stack the logs neatly.

There are two points to this conversation.

The first point is that I've been trying to get Michelle

to stand up for herself. And the second point is,

a fire can be uncontrollable.

You don't know my side of the story, so...

Well, tell me. Tell me. I'm here to learn.

I am gonna tell you, Nanny.

OK.

You just don't come in here... And I respect your values all the way,

but you need to learn from our ways, also.

Now, you say I gotta listen to her.

Do I have any say-so in any of this?

I have turned out to be the worst guy you've ever seen.

- No... - I am dangerous,

I'm careless, reckless.

And then, you come in and here I am again,

all fingers pointed at me and I look like a bad person.

I... I'm not trying to make you out to be the big bad guy.

I'm upset with Michelle as much as I'm upset with you.

Because she isn't standing up for herself enough.

She isn't backing you up and you aren't backing her up.

We are still dealing with this conflict,

and without that being fixed,

we can't move to the next step.

DENNIS: Maybe I am to blame for a lot of things,

but it's a two-way street.

The biggest problem here is that you two

aren't working well together with these kids.

So they're not looking at her as an authority figure,

and they're only looking to you.

And she's got to work on that.

She's got to work on being that strong person.

DEB: 'Michelle doesn't stand up for herself with the children.'

She isn't an authority figure.

And he doesn't wanna be the only person

that is disciplining these children.

This is about safety,

and this is about you being strong enough to voice

when you really mean it.

Like, you've got to find that voice where you can stand up

because you've really got to make sure

that when he's blowing you off,

that you can stand up for yourself.

And Nanny Deb got after me.

'She said I need to speak up more.

'I knew it was true.'

You're not always the one that has to think about safety.

Michelle does too.

But you have to think about it together, is what I'm saying.

- I understand. - Yeah.

- It makes sense. - I'm sorry. Thank you.

'It's important for my wife and I to be on the same team.'

Cos I've noticed how the kids have been acting

when two people versus one

is bringing the law down,

so, yeah, I got my wife's back.

- Is that cool? - That's cool.

- We're all cool? - Mm-hm.

It's all gonna be good.

All right.

- We're good. - OK.

'Over the next few days,

'the Abners made major strides.

'While the house remains as joyous as ever,

'safety now comes first.'

Let's go in there and make our beds...

'Dennis is beginning to embrace his role as a responsible father,

'as well as giving Mum all the support

'that one parent needs from another,

'and the undermining is becoming a thing of the past.'

Heidi, is that safe?

That's right, you guys.

'As a result, the kids are showing Mum respect

'for the first time ever.

'The Abner family is truly becoming one big happy team.'

Go, Emily, go!

Way to go!

'And even I couldn't resist

'getting in on a little bit of the Abner fun.'

Yeah! Run, Nanny!

Oh!

Thank you, guys!

'My week with the Abners is nearing an end...

'..but before I leave, there's just one more thing

'I really need to see.'

Wow!

Uh-oh.

- What're you wanting to do? - Please, Daddy!

I started to get a little jittery

because the kids all came running out and said,

"Daddy, Daddy, can we go on the three-wheeler?"

And I hate the three-wheeler.

Please, Father.

You guys wanna take a three-wheeler ride?

ALL: Yeah!

Have you earned a three-wheeler ride?

Yeah.

Look at all the balls we got.

I tell you what.

Go get your helmets.

Yay!

DEB: 'Dennis shocked me.'

"OK, girls, go get your helmets."

I was like, "OK, one step."

We got new rules on the three-wheeler.

I can only fit one person at a time on the three-wheeler.

Usually, I just get 'em all on there.

We'd all be riding at the same time. I thought to myself,

"No, Nanny Deb is right."

So wait, you guys are gonna go on the three-wheeler

one at a time, with your helmets on?

I almost passed out in my chair.

'That is a huge step for Dennis.'

We're ready, let's go.

I still couldn't watch.

Is your helmet on? Ready to go?

Whee!

Knowing that they were going to follow the safety rules

put my mind at ease.

All right!

Next rider!

Whoo-oo!

DEB: 'You can have it both. You can keep your kids safe

'and still have a lot of fun.'

I think that now, because Dennis realises that,

he's fully on board.

'And if he's not, I'm gonna kick his butt!'

The Abner house is definitely a lot safer and,

if we can continue with the rules

and the helmets and different things for riding our toys outside,

it really is gonna help this family.

'Now that I know Dennis is really taking the safety issue seriously,

'I can leave the Abners with a clear conscience.

'And all that's left to do is say goodbye.'

Hey, Abner family!

Come on in the family room. It's time for Nanny to say goodbye.

'This week has been one of the most emotional weeks I've had,

'and one of the most fun weeks'

I've had, working with the family.

And that doesn't always go hand in hand.

OK, can you believe it's been a week already?

You guys did such a great job,

it's time for Nanny to leave now. There are other kids out there

who need Nanny to come and help them too, right?

DENNIS: I think what I'll miss most about Nanny Deb is,

she's so heartfelt with what she's trying to do,

but she's stern.

'I mean, that's hard to teach that,

'to be stern but caring at the same time.'

Now, everybody's doing a good job. Mum's found her voice.

She's learning to speak. And what do you think Dad has learned?

To be safe!

To be safe.

When I first arrived,

the Abner house was like an accident waiting to happen.

But now, we've made it safe and I feel much better

about the children's safety and wellbeing.

That's the number one thing that this family has to remember, right?

DENNIS: 'The biggest change for myself will be safety.'

There's plenty of fun to do, you can just do it safe.

So before I leave, I have something in my bag to give you.

I'm gonna start with Dad.

Aw!

Everyone in this family

is a member of the Team Abner.

And Dad is...

..a coach.

Because one of the rules for this family

was that everyone works as a team,

'I gave every single family member a hat.'

Let's fix it.

There you go!

There you go.

Look at that.

The hats that Nanny Deb presented us were awesome.

'And they all got the Abner curl on it.'

Gotta make it look right.

DEB: 'They loved their Team Abner hats.'

This is for Mr Jacob! Yay!

They all have that team spirit instilled into them.

This is a family that is so loving

that, as their priorities stray in that sense,

these kids are so friendly and outgoing

and wonderful and secure, they're just awesome kids.

And you can't have that without having

a really loving environment to grow up in.

- Bye, Dennis. - Thank you.

Thank you. You keep it up, OK?

OK.

I think that Dennis realises I came in here

with my heart in the right place,

and that I know he's a good dad.

And if there were more fathers like Dennis,

there would be more kids out there

who were secure and happy

and well-adjusted.

OK, see you later.

DENNIS: 'Nanny Deb will never leave.'

The impact that she's brought to us here has just been amazing.

And the rules were great.

I think we're gonna be a pretty good family from now on.

DEB: 'It's just heartbreaking,

'cos you make a difference in these kids' lives

'and you have to go.

'And it's just the hardest thing ever.'

But part of me will always be with them,

and part of them will always be with me.

ALL: ♪ Three cheers for Nanny

♪ We're glad you came

ALL: ♪ We're glad you came

♪ Nanny, Nanny

ALL: ♪ Nanny, Nanny

♪ Come play ball

ALL: ♪ Come play ball... ♪

Yay, Nanny!

ALL: Yay, Nanny!

Need a helmet, Nanny. Safety first!

Mind that, Emily.

You gotta get it a little higher!

Swing. Yeah! Run, Nanny!

DEB SCREAMS

Oh!