[Harry!]

from the daily mail

A mother who enlisted the services of TV's Supernanny to control her unruly sons was left homeless yesterday after one of them apparently set the house ablaze.

Channel 4 childcare guru Jo Frost spent two weeks with the Young family, advising them to use rewards to encourage good behaviour and make the five boys sit on 'naughty stools' when they misbehaved.

However her strict influence failed to last long enough to prevent the youngest, three-year-old Joel, being blamed for starting a blaze in the living room, apparently with a kitchen cooker lighter.


TV nanny: Channel 4's Jo Frost as Supernanny

His mother Susan, who is understood to have separated from her husband Paul over the summer, tried to put out the flames but was forced back by the smoke.

No one was injured but Mrs Young, 40, was given oxygen after inhaling fumes. Firemen spent 30 minutes dousing the flames but the interior of the house was covered in a thick, black layer of soot leaving it uninhabitable.

The family are now understood to be staying in a hotel pending repairs to the four-bedroom semi in Witham, Essex, which was up for sale at £215,000.

A spokesman for Essex Fire Service said: "Someone is certainly going to be sitting on the naughty step for quite some time."

It was in September 2005 that Mr and Mrs Young appeared on Supernanny with their children Nathaniel, now 11, Caleb, ten, Benjamin, eight, Jacob, six, and Joel.


Unruly: Paul and Susan Young with Nathaniel, Caleb, Benjamin, Jacob and Joel appear on the Channel 4 show
Miss Frost was billed as being 'up against a mob of boys who have no respect for their home, their parents or each other'.

"Their behaviour is so bad it's driven their mother and father to the brink."

Yesterday Mrs Young said her sons had not started the fire, although Joel was at home at the time.

But neighbours and firemen claimed that Joel was to blame.

One neighbour said: "Mrs Young was on the phone when the fire started.

"She got some towels to try and put the fire out but obviously knew it was too much and got out. The downstairs of the home is absolutely gutted."

Fire officer Terry Hutton said: "The family had TV's Supernanny round to assist the parents in controlling their children.


Fire damage: The family have been forced to move out of their four-bedroom semi-detached 1940s home

"They clearly weren't playing along as the fire looks like it was caused by one of the youngsters setting light to the curtains."

After the programme was aired two years ago, Mr and Mrs Young complained that their boys' behaviour had actually deteriorated because they were encouraged to play up for the cameras.

Echoing the controversy last week when one of the Channel 4 board's founder members claimed children on the programme were made to cry, they said it was misleading to show the boys clearing up the garden to prove Miss Frost's tips had worked.

"They have always been happy to do the garden," said Mrs Young.

"The issue is when we get them to do something they don't want to do."

Her husband added: "At the end of the day, they have got to portray a TV programme that looks good."

Miss Frost is estimated to have made £5million from her programmes.

A spokesman for Channel 4 said: "The concept of the show is that Jo goes in for a short amount of time and helps teach the parents and children methods that both take on board.

"When she leaves they can then build on it. There is obviously no guarantee that will happen and, when she left the Youngs, the commentary says there is still a long way to go."

Channel 4 denied that the programme had been doctored, adding: "The garden scene doesn't imply or claim that the boys have never tidied the garden before."

[Captain.Remy]

She looks nice contrary to the french one:

[Matt]

Originally posted by sunshine30
She looks nice contrary to the french one:

You're not wrong

She's the US one too.

[Captain.Remy]

Is the french nanny, the US one too ?

[Matt]

No, the English Supernanny, sorry I should have made that clearer.

[Shaun]

What an utter little ****. I'd kill him.

[Captain.Remy]

Message original : Matt
No, the English Supernanny, sorry I should have made that clearer.

The French one looks terribly more severe than the UK one ! Go Cathy !!

[Mrluvaluva]

So they made a story out of them appearing on the programme 2 years ago? And if the mother says the 3 year old didn't do it, then who did?

[Sam!]

I luv Supernanny! Jo Frost rocks! I remember that episode!!

[Tom4784]

Originally posted by postandpollmad
from the daily mail

A mother who enlisted the services of TV's Supernanny to control her unruly sons was left homeless yesterday after one of them apparently set the house ablaze.

Channel 4 childcare guru Jo Frost spent two weeks with the Young family, advising them to use rewards to encourage good behaviour and make the five boys sit on 'naughty stools' when they misbehaved.

However her strict influence failed to last long enough to prevent the youngest, three-year-old Joel, being blamed for starting a blaze in the living room, apparently with a kitchen cooker lighter.


TV nanny: Channel 4's Jo Frost as Supernanny

His mother Susan, who is understood to have separated from her husband Paul over the summer, tried to put out the flames but was forced back by the smoke.

No one was injured but Mrs Young, 40, was given oxygen after inhaling fumes. Firemen spent 30 minutes dousing the flames but the interior of the house was covered in a thick, black layer of soot leaving it uninhabitable.

The family are now understood to be staying in a hotel pending repairs to the four-bedroom semi in Witham, Essex, which was up for sale at £215,000.

A spokesman for Essex Fire Service said: "Someone is certainly going to be sitting on the naughty step for quite some time."

It was in September 2005 that Mr and Mrs Young appeared on Supernanny with their children Nathaniel, now 11, Caleb, ten, Benjamin, eight, Jacob, six, and Joel.


Unruly: Paul and Susan Young with Nathaniel, Caleb, Benjamin, Jacob and Joel appear on the Channel 4 show
Miss Frost was billed as being 'up against a mob of boys who have no respect for their home, their parents or each other'.

"Their behaviour is so bad it's driven their mother and father to the brink."

Yesterday Mrs Young said her sons had not started the fire, although Joel was at home at the time.

But neighbours and firemen claimed that Joel was to blame.

One neighbour said: "Mrs Young was on the phone when the fire started.

"She got some towels to try and put the fire out but obviously knew it was too much and got out. The downstairs of the home is absolutely gutted."

Fire officer Terry Hutton said: "The family had TV's Supernanny round to assist the parents in controlling their children.


Fire damage: The family have been forced to move out of their four-bedroom semi-detached 1940s home

"They clearly weren't playing along as the fire looks like it was caused by one of the youngsters setting light to the curtains."

After the programme was aired two years ago, Mr and Mrs Young complained that their boys' behaviour had actually deteriorated because they were encouraged to play up for the cameras.

Echoing the controversy last week when one of the Channel 4 board's founder members claimed children on the programme were made to cry, they said it was misleading to show the boys clearing up the garden to prove Miss Frost's tips had worked.

"They have always been happy to do the garden," said Mrs Young.

"The issue is when we get them to do something they don't want to do."

Her husband added: "At the end of the day, they have got to portray a TV programme that looks good."

Miss Frost is estimated to have made £5million from her programmes.

A spokesman for Channel 4 said: "The concept of the show is that Jo goes in for a short amount of time and helps teach the parents and children methods that both take on board.

"When she leaves they can then build on it. There is obviously no guarantee that will happen and, when she left the Youngs, the commentary says there is still a long way to go."

Channel 4 denied that the programme had been doctored, adding: "The garden scene doesn't imply or claim that the boys have never tidied the garden before."

One word......adoption!

[Matt]

Originally posted by Mrluvaluva
So they made a story out of them appearing on the programme 2 years ago? And if the mother says the 3 year old didn't do it, then who did?

So many questions, so little answers

[cujo-man]

My little cousins were on Supernanny.

[Tom4784]

Originally posted by sunshine30
She looks nice contrary to the french one:

Sheesh, she looks like a terminator version of Anne Robinson! 'Kids play up for this lady and she'll rip your guts out through your A*rse!'