This morning I am completely vegging out in front of e-mail, a protocol for work, and a program on TV. Even when I’m in “down time” mode since the conference ended, I’ve gotten so accustomed to the frantic feeling of multitasking that I can’t seem to let it go. Normally on a Sunday morning, I’d be eschewing the TV and protocol for the Sunday New York Times Crossword Puzzle. Instead, I’ve gotten sucked into weekend repeats of the BBC show “Super Nanny U.S.A.”
The premise of Super Nanny U.S.A. is that some American children are so badly behaved that only British nannies, mostly in their mid-twenties and childless, can reform these tireless terrors. Notably, though, it’s usually the parents that demonstrate behavior as horrible as the child him or herself. For example, during the last two episodes, I swore I could hear the parents muttering under the breath something to the effect of “your daddy is a self-aggrandized bastard” or “mommy knew what she was doing when she skipped out of town last year with that man half her age.”
Despite my desire to never, ever be that mommy, this hour-long show about these parents and their children is mesmorizing. I watch it with my finger on the mute button so I can block the fingernail-on-chalkboard sound of the screaming child that the show edits in at minutes equal to the first 10 numbers in the Fibonacci sequence. During each silence, I predictably marvel 1) that American parents are willing to showcase their and their child’s bad behavior on TV to people around the world and 2) how much a stern British accent seems to stun the child into submission better than anything else.
Super Nanny U.S.A. is Sunday morning birth control for the masses.
What the hell is the Fibonacci sequence? Good thing I didnt see this show before I had kids or you wouldnt have seen it either.
Posted by: mom | 01 May 2006 at 01:38 AM
Don't know what something is? Look it up. I think some parental unit told me that a couple of hundred times.
Good thing you don't share my attitude toward children, I agree.
Posted by: daughter | 01 May 2006 at 07:05 AM
That's what you are for....so I dont have to look things up smarty pants.
Posted by: mom | 01 May 2006 at 10:29 PM
Hi, I came by you blog via the 'recently updated' list on my blog. Being British, we've had Supernanny on our screens dealing with legions of our own bad parents for years.
We also get Supernanny USA over here, and it's surprising to see how everyone describes her as Mary Poppins. Must be the accent, maybe you're right.
My only annoyance with the show is her inability to say the word 'unacceptable' correctly. Drives me mad!
Posted by: Kirsty | 07 May 2006 at 08:29 PM