A WOMAN who featured on Supernanny when she was just five years old has revealed the truth behind the entire experience.
Grace Tickle’s mum turned to the child expert – real name Jo Frost – when her daughter’s “fussiness” got out of control.
Her mum asked Jo Frost for advice about her daughter’s “fussiness” during a Supernanny road show[/caption]
Jo didn’t pull any punches as she told the mum to be firm and not give Grace any snacks in between meals, or anything else if she didn’t like her meal[/caption]
The five-year-old made her true feelings about Supernanny crystal clear during the episode[/caption]
It was a roadshow type episode, when Grace and her mum sat down with Jo in a shopping centre, and discussed the issue at hand.
“It all started really when she was about 15 months old and she had a tummy bug and then obviously she stopped eating,” Grace’s mum said.
“And then when she started eating again it was very fatty.
“She likes cheese and there are a few biscuits that she will eat, like she’ll eat chocolate chip cookies.”
Jo then said that Grace had “got into a bad habit” of “eating those foods only purely because you give them to her”.
“I’d take her back a stage… Start off with the foods that I would say are sweeter, which are root vegetables.
“And don’t give snacks in between right now.
“Don’t give her anything!”
Grace’s mum then replied: “So if she doesn’t eat her dinner, give her nothing then for the rest of the night?”
“No, none of the other stuff,” Supernanny said.
“It’s a battle of wills really at this moment. So go home and do it.”
However, the advice wasn’t helpful – especially now that it’s emerged that Grace actually had an undiagnosed eating disorder at the time.
Grace took to TikTok to answer the most commonly asked questions about her experience on Supernanny, top of the list being “did she help your situation?”
“And that also kind of goes hand in hand with the question of was she nice?” Grace said.
“Obviously I don’t really remember it because I was only five, but my mum said that she was quite intimidating.
“And yeah, I didn’t like her one bit. And if you’ve watched the video, you can see my face – I was giving her the dirtiest looks ever!”
More parenting hacks
IF you want to make your life easier as a first-time mum, here’s nine hacks you won’t want to miss.
1. Routine Charts
Create visual charts for daily routines. Use pictures and stickers to make them engaging for younger children.
2. Meal Planning
Plan meals a week in advance to save time and reduce stress. Involve your children in meal prep to teach them cooking skills.
3. Toy Rotation
Keep a portion of toys stored away and rotate them periodically. This keeps playtime fresh and exciting without the need for constant new purchases.
4. DIY Cleaning Solutions
Make child-safe cleaning solutions using vinegar and baking soda. It’s effective and keeps harsh chemicals away from little hands.
5. Time-Out Jar
Create a time-out jar filled with calming activities written on slips of paper. When emotions run high, children can pick an activity to help them settle down.
6. Educational Apps
Utilise educational apps and websites to make screen time productive. Look for ones that offer interactive learning in subjects your child is interested in.
7. Command Centre
Set up a family command centre with a calendar, key hooks, and a bulletin board. It helps keep everyone organised and aware of daily schedules.
8. Emergency Kit
Keep a small emergency kit in the car with essentials like snacks, water, first aid supplies, and a change of clothes. It’s a lifesaver for unexpected situations.
9. Label Everything
Use labels for clothes, school supplies, and lunch boxes. It makes it easier to keep track of belongings, especially in shared spaces like schools.
She also gets asked if it was “scripted”, to which she replied that it isn’t, but things are often dramatised for the purposes of the show.
Grace’s mum also took to the comments section of the TikTok to answer questions, as one person asked: “Did you feel blindsided by the show?
“Did they make you out to be ‘bad’?”
To which she admitted: “I felt intimidated a bit like a child being passively aggressively ‘told off’ by a teacher.”
“Just watched it – your mum looks horrified!”another commented on Grace’s TikTok video.
“She was basically saying it was your mum’s fault!
“My baby hardly eats anything – if I don’t give her the foods she likes she wouldn’t eat at all.
“And I’d rather her have something than nothing (she has a balanced but VERY bland diet).”
“The Supernanny’s I’ve seen, I don’t think she was that good at all,” someone else said.
“She was very intimidating. From any of the comments I’ve read, it occasionally made the kids rebel.
“The way she used to talk to the parents, let alone the kids.”