Jo meets the mihalik family...
Hi. Hello.
This recently widowed mom
Outnumbered by her kids four to one...
I've had it.
One of them runs. The other one goes over here. [Jo] exactly.
And she's % depleted.
How long with the big, brave face?
A long time, I'd say that.
With the two oldest boys running the show...
No!
Get up. No!
Oh, my [bleep] god. I told you the time...
Do not say that.
[Screams] jo's gotta get mom off her knees right now...
Would they have even thought to have spoken to you like that
If their father was around? No.
And into action... Aiden!
What I'm seeing up here is downright rude,
And it needs to change. [Jo] no locks on their doors.
Before it's too late,
And she loses control of her kids... Do not back-talk to me.
[Laughs]
For good. Blake!
♪♪♪♪♪
♪ Be good, be good ♪
♪ Be good, be good, be good ♪
♪ Be good, be good, be good ♪
♪ Be good, be good, be good ♪ ♪ johnny ♪
♪ Be good, be good, be good ♪
♪ Be good, be good, be good ♪
♪ Be good, be good, be good ♪
♪ Be good, be good, be good ♪ ♪ johnny ♪
♪ Johnny ♪
Another family needing my help. Let's see what I'm in for.
Hi, we're the mihalik family.
I'm donna. I have four children...
Blake, who's ...
Cole is ... Aah!
Aiden is ... [Donna] aiden!
And stephanie's a year and a half. Look at this little sweetie.
In the last four years,
Things have been a little difficult for our family.
Four years ago, cole was diagnosed with leukemia
And was treated for about two and a half years,
And now he's off treatments.
Then two years ago,
My husband steve passed away after a sudden illness.
It was a very difficult time--
Difficult for the boys to lose their dad
And difficult for me, of course, to lose a partner
And the person who helps you with the kids.
[Exhales deeply]
The number one issue for me is the fighting.
One of them wants to use the computer,
And the other one's on it.
Ow!
That's got to stop.
My kids cuss all the time.
So shut the [bleep] up.[Bleep]
Oh, my [bleep] god. I told you the time...
Do not say that.
[Jo] mom, how can you let the kids talk to you like that?
Tell him to get off the computer. No. I've had it.
Blake is , but he hangs out with much older kids.
[Donna] what is it with you that you can't listen?
[Screams]
Cole's very intense.
[Jo] oh, no.
I basically feel like I have no control over aiden.
Don't you... [Gasps] aiden!
[Crying] stephanie's definitely picking up
Behaviors from the boys. Don't do that.
If I can't get some kind of control of the chaos now...
No! I can't even imagine what it will be like
When the younger two start growing up,
And the older two are totally out of control.
Mom, you're emotionally and physically depleted.
[Wailing] ow!
Please come now, supernanny. I need your help.
Donna, you do need my help,
But I've heard you, and I'm on my way.
Hi.
Hello.
Please come in.
Obviously, I'm jo.
Hi. I'm donna. Hi, donna.
And who's this little one here? This is aiden.
Can you wave hi?
And this is stephanie. Hi, stephanie.
Hi. Say hi. [Laughs]
When jo walked in...
[Laughs] she scared me.
When she's all nannied out like that,
She's--she's a little scary.
Cole, I have someone to meet you.
Hi. You always on the computer, cole?
From the minute he gets up
Till the minute he goes to bed.
Blake, someone's here to meet you.
Good morning, sleepyhead.
[Laughs]
What I'm going to do is to allow you to continue
How you normally would if I wasn't here,
So that I can step back
And really take a good look at you and your family. Okay.
All right? [Jo] I started to observe the family,
And very, very quickly,
I was glad this woman had called me.
What?
[Telephone ringing]
Stop talking to me like that.
Hello?
And how long's he been carrying that mouth for?
I don't know. It's just getting worse and worse.
[Donna] do not lock that door! [Door slams]
Cole had locked his mother out of her bedroom,
And then he finally opened up the door
And went onto her bed.
Excuse me?
Get out of my bed. Come on, let's go.no.
Let's go.
If cole's not happy, nobody's happy.
Get out of here. Go. Go.
[Jo] well, it just surprised me that cole had the audacity
To even think that he could raise his hand to his mother
And hit her and swear at her
And talk to her the way he was, and she just took it.
So is this how your children behave
When they don't get their own way?
Yes. When they don't get their own way?
Yeah.
All of them?
Yeah. Pretty much.[Crying]
[Donna] when the kids hit me or throw things at me,
It feels... Just ugly.
Like--like what's going through their head,
To think that can treat me that way?
[Jo] donna's completely exhausted
With having to deal with her children's bad behavior.
Blake, get up.
Get up.
No, we agreed that you'd get up at noon.
It is :. Get up.
No. Why don't you get up now?
No. [Jo] did someone have a late night?
What time did you guys stay up till?
No.yes.
No!get up.
No!
Hi.
Straight after my warm welcome from blake,
He went to find cole to beat him up.
[Blake shouting indistinctly]
[Cries]
[Donna] blake, stop.
No.
You need to stay here. Did you hear me?
[Jo] donna's just lost control of the boys.
I mean, blake's just gone off. She doesn't know where he is,
When he's gonna be back.
I mean, anything could happen to him. Blake!
Coming up on...
Jo gets donna to face the truth...
How long this lump in your throat? I don't have the answer.
Then she reveals a loss of her own...
And I'm talking about the compassion that I truly feel
Because I know what that feels like.
I was when I lost my mom,
And it's the hardest thing that I've ever had to deal with.
When "supernanny" returns.
♪ Be good, be good ♪
[Jo] one hour after leaving, blake came home,
And I had a really good chance to be able to talk to him.
But do you get this feeling like your mom needs my help?
Sometimes families need help, you know?
They need extra help.
And that's what your mom did.
I ignore my mom a lot...
Uh, like, going to my friend's house and stuff.
So, like, when mom told you that I was coming,
Like, what did you think?
Do you think I could help her?
[Jo] we didn't talk much, but the silence said everything,
And I know that losing his father
Has had an enormous impact on him.
Come on, guys.
I'm not going inside. Yeah, you are.
[Jo] later on, mom was trying
To round the children up for dinner,
But she just wasn't having an easy time doing it.
Come on. Hey, yah!
Cole, stop being silly. Get off.
Where you going, aiden?
I'm getting really pissed off.
Get inside. You need to get inside.
Aiden! Come on.
Let's go. Come on. Get in here! No!
It was like putting balls into a bottomless sack,
Because every time one kid run out,
And she brought the other kid in,
The other one would go out, and then she'd bring it in.
And the other one would go out, and she'd bring it in. You need to get inside.
There's one of me, and four of them,
And one of them runs, the other one goes over here... [Jo] exactly.
I don't even know where stephanie is at this point.
[Jo] I hadn't even been here a full day,
And I could tell that donna had just had it.
How long you been putting on this brave face, donna? I don't know.
Because right now you're transparent.
You asked me to come in here
And observe and watch and help your family.
Mm?
[Sniffles]
I'm sorry...no.
It's just harder than I thought it was gonna be.
It's, like, really frustrating. [Jo] she was really at a loss.
I mean, you really felt that this lady
Was trying to hold on and just losing that grip.
What is so hard at the moment for you? [Children shouting]
What is hard? It's easier just to let 'em go, like I said before, you know?
They can go do what they want.
[Donna] I'm definitely one of those people who's like,
"This is your situation. Just buck up and take care of it."
Sitting around and crying, to me, is not a solution.
How long this lump in your throat?
How long with the big, brave face?
[Sniffles] I don't know.
I don't have the answer.
A long time, I'd say that.
Do you know how long I did it?
Five years. Five years.
I can relate to donna.
I know what it's like to lose somebody
That you love so close to your heart.
I was when I lost my mom,
And it's the hardest thing that I've ever had to deal with.
So I know what donna's feeling.
Can I give you a big hug? [Sniffles] yeah.
Donna, for about two years,
Has been braving a lot of feelings.
But if she wants to move on,
She's gonna have to face some real concerns.
If I was to have this conversation with you
And ignore the tragedies
That have happened in your life,
Then I would be ignoring
A very important part of your life,
And I'm talking about your husband...
And the compassion that I truly feel,
Because I know what that feels like.
As much as a tragedy is that has got you here,
The fact is,
Is that what you and steve do have together
Is four beautiful children.
And when you married that man
And you made a commitment to him,
You also made a commitment together
To raise your children.
And I know that if he was here,
That is what he'd want.
But...
And I'm not going to use your circumstances
As an excuse, because I know
That you wouldn't want that, either, correct?
That is very correct.
Brings me on to behavior here.
I think it's absolutely disgusting
The way your children continue
To be aggressive to you
Hitting you, swearing at you,
Disrespecting you.
Absolutely appalling, donna.
How dare they think that
They can talk to you like that?
But they think they can, because you allow it.
I gotta ask you--why?
Why do you tolerate it?
I guess I just haven't found a solution.
I haven't found a way to make it stop.
Would they have even thought to have spoken to you like that
If their father was around?
No. No, they wouldn't have.
Why do you think they do it?
To get attention, you know. To just kind of get me.
Maybe they're angry at me. I don't know.
Why do you think that your kids are angry with you?
I don't know.
I think they're angry at me because...
[Sniffles] because I'm just one person,
And I haven't been doing everything that they need.
I guess. I don't know. I don't know.
Honestly... [Sniffles]
Maybe just they're not getting, like,
Peace, kind of. Like, peace in the house.
You're not getting it, are you?
[Sniffles]
Not at this moment.
You do need to be able to step up
And to take your role
In this house seriously as the mother.
Because what will happen is,
It will spiral completely out of control,
Right down to stephanie.
If this is gonna work, I've gotta take charge.
And there's just no ifs, ands and buts about it.
Who needs to be the disciplinarian
In this house?
I do. I'm ready. I'm definitely ready.
Yeah? Mm-hmm.
Then let's get to work straightaway then. Okay.
Okay, good.
Coming up on...
Do not cuss at me. [Laughs]
The boys rebel against the new rules...
[Bleep] that.
[Bleep] you.
[Jo] I suggest you go and get him. Blake!
When "supernanny" returns.
♪ Be good, be good ♪
♪♪♪♪♪
[Jo] with all the trauma that the kids have gone through,
Cole having leukemia... Hello!
And them all losing their father,
Donna is finding it really hard to enforce discipline.
Can I have a quick chat with you?sure.
Yeah? Bring the kids in.
When jo walked up, I was like, "okay, we're starting."
Get on my shoulders. I'll carry you in. No!
Come on. We gotta go in. [Screaming]
Let's go. No!
[Jo] it was crucial that donna be such a big part
Of the change in her home,
And not that the children would just see me
Coming in and making change.
So I asked mom to present the rules to her boys herself.
Okay, mom. Can you go through your rules?
Okay, number one.
Do as you're told by your mother.
Number two.
Must have mother's permission before leaving the house.
Number three. Treat your mother with respect. What does it mean, donna?
It means... Yeah, blake.
To listen to me, to not back-talk to me,
Not cuss at me. [Laughs]
Number four-- computer time to be earned.
No fair.
[Jo] these boys were taking their mom for a ride.
They knew it, and she knew it, and now their gig was up.
[Bleep] that.
[Bleep] you. [Cole] [bleep] you!
[Donna] I think blake and cole,
At that moment when jo was introducing the rules,
They perceive it as, you know, a threat,
Or somebody who's coming in, kind of, to mess up their world.
They've been allowed to do pretty much
Whatever they want to.
What I'm seeing up here is downright rude,
And it needs to change.
[Yells indistinctly]
Cole, can I come in, please?
Mom. Yeah?
Cole, as expected,
Wanted to push past what was being said
And kept the door locked.
Ownership.
Cole? Cole?
Cole, can you open the door, please?
[Cole] no.
Cole, you need to open the door, please. No!
I knew that donna would have to go in
Militant with these boys.
All these locks get taken away.
No locks on their doors-- so your children can decide
When they want to lock the door
And not listen to you.
That's not happening in this house anymore.
If these children are not prepared to listen to you,
Then you have to make a stand
And take the locks off the doors.
That way they know they cannot control the situation
By using a lock on a door.
So, mom, you're gonna pop the lock with this.
So I got the power drill out. I'm not having none of it.
It's important that it's not me doing it--it's you.
Because you're following through,
And your words are your words,
And you mean what you say.
[Jo] so the locks came off,
And there was this kind of empowerment for mom.
I was mad.
Go away!and there was cole, just laying back, watching,
"Oh, my word. Mom stepped up.
Mom means business this time 'round."
You show mom
That you can leave your door unlocked,
Then the locks can go back on the door again.
I just want jo to leave us alone.
[Cole] get off me!
[Jo] I walked in on blake and cole
Having an argument upstairs with them using the computer.
So who's up for listening about the computer
And coming to, uh, a solution? Cole?
What?i'm gonna go downstairs with mom
And talk about this and resolve it.
If you guys want to join in with the conversation,
Feel free to come down, okay?
The boys are constantly fighting over the computer,
And that needs to stop.
So now's the time to introduce it as a house rule.
What's going to happen, all right,
Is that we're gonna bring the computer down,
All right, from the one room,
And put it in a room where everybody can share.
And these are your reward vouchers.
This coupon entitles you to so many hours
Of your computer, all right?
So you've got a way of earning
To be on the computer this time.
That's [bleep].
That's [bleep]. [Laughs]
So books...
That's dumb! Books for you.
Okay, tickets to cole and to blake,
So that they earn their computer time.
[Jo] for me, it was so important for them to recognize,
You use it all the time. You don't do anything else.
And now you're going to start appreciating the fact
That you do go on this computer and earn it.
How do you earn it, donna?
How do you earn the computer time? With good behavior.
Let's go and get the computer,
And let's just bring it down, okay? [Donna] okay.
[Blake] no. Blake, get off the computer!
[Jo] when blake realized what we meant was,
We were taking the computer downstairs...
Blake, come here, please.
He dug his heels in.
I was talking to you.
I would like you
To turn around and speak to your mother with respect. No.
Blake got really mad. He wasn't interested.
He was really against it.
What I won't do is stand by and watch
You be disrespectful to your mother,
'Cause she loves you.
Donna, come over here, please.
This is something that I want to get resolved.
It doesn't matter if your--it's your room.
[Jo] I don't know if donna just didn't get it,
Or whether she just wasn't doing it.
But this is her house, and she needs
To put her foot down.
We can set up something that's fair. I'm not helping you.
Where's he going? [Stephanie sobs]
I suggest you go and get him. Blake!
[Jo] donna just couldn't let blake run off this time.
She really had to show him that she cared enough,
'Cause previously, she just let him go off.
Coming up on...
Once mom catches up with blake...
You need to come back, okay?
Come on. Let's go. Good luck.
It's cole's turn to get her on the run.
You need to come back inside.
No. Yes, you do.
[Giggles]
When "supernanny" returns.
♪ Be good, be good ♪
[Jo] when mom and I decided that the computer
Was gonna go downstairs,
Blake threw a fit and ran outside.
And it was crucial that mom get him back into the house.
You need to come back, okay? Come on. Let's go.
Why don't you wanna come back?
Why don't you wanna try, blake?
I'm not doing this to be mean.
I'm doing it so we can be happier.
[Donna] I wasn't really sure if I was getting through to him,
But he did walk back home.
[Jo] patience is key with any parent,
And no exceptions made for blake, either.
But mom's persistence is really paying off.
And a few minutes later, blake came upstairs to help out.
So who's gonna carry what?
I can carry the monitor. [Jo] right. We're gonna take the computer,
And then we're gonna bring it downstairs.
Can I take this stuff, you think?yeah.
All right. Excellent.
You all right there?
[Jo] it was really great to see blake finally opening up.
Mom, why do we have to move the computer?
I think it's a great idea, because that way,
I can keep track of what's going on with it.
Thank you, honey.
Very quickly, those guys were earning computer coupons.
Well done, blake. Well done. Good job, buddy.
Thanks for cooperating. That helps a lot. Yeah. Yeah.
But as I could predict, cole broke the rules,
And he went outside the house without even asking permission.
You need to come back inside.
No. Yes, you do.
I want to get on the computer. You're gonna go back inside.
[Giggles]
Get off.
[Jo] cole certainly wasn't giving in...
Get off. But mom had to make it really clear
That he wasn't gonna get away with his behavior, either.
"Must have mother's permission before leaving the house."
Did you ask your mother? No, you didn't.
So this is what you are going to do.
You're now gonna sit on that seat
One minute per your age. How old are you?
How old is he? .
Exactly eight minutes.
I got in trouble for not following the rules.
Every time he decides to break these rules,
Then he's gonna end up on that chair.
I had my doubts at that moment if he would stay in the chair,
But he did.
So, you know, that--that was encouraging.
But don't let cole's aggressive behavior
Intimidate you, okay?
Because at the end of the day, he's an -year-old boy.
I think I had kind of thought, there's nothing I can do.
They're just not gonna listen to me.
Cole, you were put here because you broke the rules,
And you didn't ask me before you left the house.
And then I realized, you know,
Just every time i-i step forward a little bit with them,
That it was working.
So I was like, hey, you know, this works.
I want an apology, cole. [Moaning]
Okay. You can get up.
No. [Jo] okay, it's up to you then.
But we're gonna go outside in the backyard
And have some fun.
[Jo] donna's really getting a grip now
On cole's difficult behavior,
But I thought it would be a good challenge
To get them to work together as a team--
Something that they had never done before.
This is what you have to do in eight minutes.
There is a hose, and there are buckets.
And mom is holding that cylinder over there
With a red mark around it.
I've created a water obstacle course
So that mom and cole can work together
In beating the clock.
Are you ready?
Yeah. On your marks...
'Cause you're gonna follow her.
Oh, I think you will.
Get set...
Go! Come on, cole.
I'm never gonna make it.
Got water, filling up the buckets.
Okay.
[Claps] all right.
[All laughing]
[Jo] and there was cole, filling up the buckets
And walking really fast,
Trying to pour the water into the cylinder,
Which was going all over mom.
Keep going! Keep going! Yeah, quick! [Laughs]
Run! [Donna] cole enjoys a challenge, so I had a lot of fun
Just watching how excited he was.
Got it now, cole. Yes, that's it. Now look--
You got it.
[Donna] by listening and cooperating... [Jo] all right!
He's realizing that, "you know what?
I'm getting a good response from mom."
You're at two and a half minutes!
[Jo] I do feel it allowed them both
To have a lot of fun together. One minute left, buddy! One minute.
And considering donna spends
Most of her time in confrontation with cole,
It was a great exercise to bring 'em together. We did it!
Well done, cole.
Was it cool, then?
[Cole] it was fun playing with her
Because we never play with each other.
[Laughs]
When he's actually turned around and said,
"Oh, can we do it again?"
That was it. I mean, you had it then.
♪♪♪♪♪
Can I go to brandon'’s?
No.
Because I need you here right now.
[Jo] later on, blake wanted to go to his friend's house,
And mom said no. But blake's an older kid.
You can't keep him inside all day.
So I thought it was time to step it up
And introduce some trust between them.
How far's brendan's?
[Donna and blake] two minutes. Two minutes away. Okay.
What we would like you to do
Is be back by a quarter past :.
You got a watch, blake? Have you got a watch?no.
No?
[Jo] so I decided to give him a watch
And a definite time to come home,
So that he could be responsible and show mom
That he could stick with that and earn her trust.
[Crickets chirping]
♪♪♪♪♪
[Jo laughs]
He's running home now, isn't he?
He's five minutes late, but, you know,
At least he's coming back, and that's good for me.
Hey, buddy. Hey.
What time is it? :.
So you're a bit late, right? Mm-hmm.
So how long does it take you to get back from brendan's?
Like, two minutes. Two minutes. Okay.
So what time would you need to leave?
Uh...
Okay, you got it. All right.
So let's make sure that we do that, okay? Okay.
So that we can be back on the dot.
Go up and tell mom that you're back, though.
All right. Okay.
So he was running five minutes late, by my watch.
The fact is, he came back,
Give or take those five minutes.mm-hmm.
When you stood that up,
That first sign of trust there,
Him listening to you, you listening to him.
I think he's actually getting into it.
I'm so optimistic now. You know, even more so.
Good.yeah.
That's where we want you.
[Jo] I feel happy with the progress that you've made.
I'm gonna leave you.
I'm gonna leave you to get on with the techniques.
Okay.keep your strength up. Okay, donna?
You've done really, really well. You've done really well.
I hope you can see
The small steps that you're making forward.
[Jo] she knows what she needs to be doing,
And whether she puts it into practice is yet to be seen.
So you feel good about that? Yeah, I do. I feel pretty good.
I've only been here a couple of days,
But donna has made progress. But I gotta be honest,
I am concerned about how she's gonna deal
With all four kids when I'm away. Be good, yeah? Be good.
Be good, yeah? Be good.
Bye-bye. Yay! Bye-bye.
[Donna] I guess it's mixed emotions,
Because of course, you know, now it's like the true test.
Coming up on...
Blake thinks he's outsmarted mom...
[Blake] I pretty much can do whatever I want
Aát brendan's house. [Laughs]
But jo's got the perps caught on tape.
We usually run around till, like, : in the morning.
That's, like, pretty much when we go out, 'cause nobody's out,
And you can do pretty much anything you want to.
When "supernanny" returns.
♪ Be good, be good ♪
Well, I can't wait to show donna this dvd footage,
Because it's going to take her to another level. Watch this.
So, donna, are you ready
To take a look at this dvd? Honestly? [Laughs]
Yeah. I don't know.
Ah, you wanna see it or not? I guess.
Okay.
Mom? Yeah.
Did you earn any time? You wanna run the vacuum?
How long would I get if I ran the vacuum? Minutes.
Okay.
[Donna] good job. That looks excellent.
Mom! I'm done. You're done?
Uh-huh. Okay.
Yep, for .
Now you can't say that's not pleasing to the eye. [Laughs]
I love the fact that conversation has opened up
About how cole can earn his computer time,
Because it means he's thinking.
But good praise there, though. I like the fact that even when
Cole was doing the stairs,
You were still giving him praise and acknowledging it.
Okay, move on to the next one? Mm-hmm.
Cole, I want you to get off the computer right now.
I'm not on it!
Excuse me, you are on it. Excuse me!
What are you doing? Looking up stuff.
You don't have computer time.
I want you to get off the computer,
Or you will not be going over to ryan's today.
My god, what the freak is wrong with you?
You will not go to ryan's swimming today.
No, now you're gonna go sit in the chair.
I want you off the computer.
No. Get off me.
Do not-- they already made ryan go home.
You don't kick me.
Cole? What?
If she doesn't like it, let her go.
I'm not doing anything!
What happened? Look at cole's mouth here.
You should have put him in line, donna.
You don't want to eat lunch, that's fine.
These are crap.
Cole.
You should have gotten off the computer.
Cole.
Well, right now, you're all mouth and no trousers.
You kept saying, "get off the computer.
I need you to get off the computer."
You don't need him to do anything for you.
You need him to make a decision,
Otherwise he's gonna get a consequence.
Because you've not followed through on anything,
The only thing that cole is going to see
Is that he was able to back-talk you
To continue the way he wanted throughout the whole morning,
And he still ended up doing what he wanted to do.
I think when he... When he does start acting up more,
Sometimes it throws me back a little.
You're the mother. Your word's final.
You don't need to argue about that.
Okay, move on to the next one.
Blake's on the internet.
How do you know he's on there?
He just logged on. Okay.
He's gonna get his ass kicked.
Blake, you need to get off the computer.
Just 'cause you went to brendan's
Doesn't mean you can be on the computer.
Mom! What?
He's still on.
Cole said you're still on.
All right. So you logged off?
It says he logged out, but you're not logged out.
I bet blake just did it.
Well, he told me he logged out.
Well, he lied.
[Laughs]
Oh, brazen.
Look what's happening here
When he's hanging around with this group.
I like staying up late at brendan's house.
I pretty much can do
Whatever I want at brendan's house. [Laughs]
Yeah, I'm spray-painting my friend's shoes green.
Just something to do. Yeah.
"Cause his mom'll get mad.
We usually run around till, like, : in the morning,
Like, yeah, :, :.
That's, like, pretty much when we go out.
It's pretty fun, 'cause nobody's out
And you can do pretty much anything you want to.
Blake definitely looks up to me all the time.
It's
Well, we're all sleeping over here. We do some pretty crazy stuff.
The parents don't really find out,
'Cause we kind of sneak out really late
When everybody's asleep.
I don't see how we don't get caught, though. We're so loud.
What do you make of that?
It's not funny anymore, is it? No.
It is a concern about what they're getting up to,
'Cause you just don't know.
You don't know. You don't know what your boys are doing.
You don't know if they're in or out,
You don't know what's really going on.
We're looking at teenagers here. They're ,
And we're looking at preteen when we look at blake.
He's mature in some ways
And immature in others, you know... Absolutely. I agree.
And he's hanging around and he's looking up to the older boys.
He wants to be one of the boys.
He wants to be accepted, and you wanna hope
That the mischief they're doing is harmless
Or it's not going to affect somebody else,
And it's not gonna get them into trouble.
So it's about giving these kids a sense of freedom,
But at the same time, making sure
That you're protecting them and looking after them,
So that they don't go off the rails,
So they don't get in trouble with the police. Absolutely.
Coming up on...
Jo has a plan...
It'll be a really beautiful thing, I think.
Yeah, it's nice. I like that idea.
That will finally bring the family together.
I'll think of my dad every time I see the tree.
When "supernanny" returns.
♪ Be good, be good ♪
We've had a crazy few days
With so much change happening in the house,
But I wanted to get this family together, having fun,
Because there's that side as well.
So I decided to take 'em all bowling.
Now push it down so she can see.
Yay!
Yay! Whoo!
It was the first time that I'd seen the family all together,
Doing something that they really enjoyed.
Here, aiden. Aiden!
Whoo!
Hey!
It was nice to go to the bowling alley
And have some fun, you know, kind of get a break
From all the routine and the discipline.
[Donna] all right! Whoo!
Bowling was good. It's been nice playing with my family.
Whoa!
[Laughs]
Donna said to me when I first met her,
"Jo, I just want peace. There's no peace in this house."
Do you hear that?
Unh-unh.
Is that more peaceful?
Oh, you mean--
The quiet. Yeah, it is.
Definitely nice.
And in a nutshell, donna found peace.
You've come a long way.
I think so.
There's been so much going on in donna's household--
New rules and discipline and rewards--
I didn't want donna to ever think that I'd forgotten
That this woman was also a woman
That was healing and in bereavement.
I bought a really nice tree.
And as a tribute to her husband,
I suggested for them all to come together as a family
And plant a tree in celebration of his life.
'Cause the idea of, um...
That tree being planted at the back
And stephanie growing up and seeing that tree...
I thought it'd really be beautiful
For all the kids in, like, in memory.
Hmm?
In celebration?
You're gonna start me crying now, too.
I think it was the real moment
When I felt, like, you know, jo really cares,
And her intentions, you know, are truly, truly good.
And she brought out a lot of feelings in me
That I think I've just held in.
Yeah, that's nice. I like that idea. I do.
It'd be a really beautiful thing, I think.
[Cole] how are we gonna lift that tree?
Where do you want it? Come on.
Help mommy push.
The tree that we planted today
Was in memory of my dad. Where do you want yours?
The ribbons was a good idea to put on the tree,
Because it resembles my whole family.
We need another one.
The change in blake, just seeing him participate,
It just shows that he understands
And he appreciates what we all did kind of together.
I'll think of my dad every time I see the tree.
[Jo] from my experience, it's a really long journey
When you lose someone that you love.
The family's still healing.
It's a big step for them today.
To me, it's such a beautiful way
To symbolically celebrate steve's life,
And to know that as that tree grows and expands,
So will their family.
The first day of teaching,
You may have thought was the first day,
But I feel today is the first day of a new beginning for you.
Thank you. Thank you.
I'm really proud of you.
Take care of yourself, you, okay?
Bye-bye. Bye-bye.
I think by the end,
All of us realized that it was hard,
But in the very end it was worth it.
There's no doubt
Donna has made tremendous progress,
And they are gonna have days
Where it's going to be difficult,
But at least donna has felt empowered
In being able to raise her boys
And know that she's on the right pathway.
And that's what matters, because at the end of the day,
It's about being the best possible parent she can.
Great.
I think what jo gave our family
Is the ability to come together
And make this a great family.
Uh-oh. Get it, aiden.
Go get 'em.
I definitely have much more strength
Than when I started out.
My kids deserve to have those boundaries
And to have that discipline
And to learn what's right and what's wrong.
Yeah, look at the cars.
I see a change in cole
In his willingness to cooperate.
I see him working,
Running the vacuum or watching aiden
To earn his computer time.
Blake's changed by taking more responsibility
When he leaves, and then, you know, setting a time
And actually coming back at that time.
I'm getting along a little better with my mom.
We have more time to talk and stuff.
Say "yummy."
I can say that I'm proud of myself
And I'm proud of my kids.
Do you hear me?
Stephanie.
Stephanie!
Don't pull the flowers.
Stephanie! Do not dig up miss alice's mulch.
Aiden, stop it.
Do not do that.
Do you hear me? No.
Stephanie, no.
Donna, do you think your kids can hear you?
I think they hear me. I think they ignore me.
Stephanie, stop it.
Stephanie.
I'm gonna come and get you.
Ten flower heads too late.