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The Atkinson Family is the first episode of Season 7 of the American Supernanny show. It first aired on ABC on November 5, 2010.

Episode summary[]

In the Season 7 premiere, Jo visits the Atkinsons, who are a blended family of 7 from Glen Ellyn, Illinois.

Jen (41) has two teenage daughters from her first marriage: 14-year-old Amanda and 13-year-old Abbey. John (39) has a 10-year-old daughter, Julia, with whom he shares custody with his ex-wife. Together, John and Jennifer have two daughters: 4-year-old Reese and 2-1/2-year-old Maeve.

While the family is blended by name, it is anything but in reality. The two oldest daughters, Amanda and Abbey, show resentment and disrespect to their mom and stepdad. Meanwhile, the two little act out and don't listen to their mom or dad. Reese has picked up the attitude she sees from Amanda and Abbey, and has major separation anxiety from John. She would scream hysterically and run into the street once he leaves. Maeve is going through her terrible twos.

Jennifer and John aren't very consistent about rules, and they parent their children differently from each other. Can Jo help the Atkinsons maintain structure and rules in their household? Can she help Jennifer's relationship with her teenage daughters and address Reese's separation anxiety before its too late?

Recap[]

Observation[]

When Jo arrives at the Atkinson household, Julia was still at her mother's house. Jo soon got to see how Amanda and her mother interact. Amanda demands that Jennifer makes her pasta for lunch and complains that she "always wants to be in her life." During the argument between mother and daughter, Reese takes a seat on the table. Amanda promptly turns her anger onto Reese, telling her to get out of the former's seat. John tells Amanda to let it go, but Amanda continues to argue with Reese and ultimately leaves the table with a loud burp.

When John leaves to pick up Julia, Reese freaks out and does something Jennifer had never seen: run down the driveway and into the street. Jennifer spends the next twenty minutes chasing Reese before putting her inside.

After Julia arrives, Jo notices Jennifer breaking down. The latter admits that when she had asked Amanda to put the chips away before dinner, Amanda told her that she wishes she would die. Both Amanda and Abbey have a brief conversation with Jo, and Amanda admits that her moods affect everyone. Even though she wants a relationship with her family, she does not know how to change. Jo believes that while Amanda was very angry, she was also deeply hurt.

Family meeting[]

John and Jennifer admit that having different rules for children from different relationships doesn't work. The parents also admit that they attempted to set ground rules early on, but the children would laugh and ignore them. Jo explains the reason behind this: they weren't firm enough. She moves on to the topic of Reese's separation anxiety: her behavior the previous day was not okay, and John should have cut the goodbye short while Jennifer should have used a time-out once Reese ran out of the driveway. Finally, Jo feels that there is a lot that needs to be clarified in between Amanda, Abbey and Jennifer in particular. With all three adults ready to work together, Jo begins her Teaching.

Teaching[]

Before she can begin her Teaching session, Jo wants to ensure the family's full attention. To this end, she brings out black sheets and explains that things covered by these sheets cannot be used for the duration of her stay. Much to high dismay of the family, she places the sheets over the television and computer. Jo then brings out a pot and tells the family that all of their cell phones would be confiscated at the start at each day and returned at 7:30 every evening so that she can have the family's full attention. She gives them a few minutes to contact their loved ones to explain this lack of communication, which results in the entire family very frantically calling everyone. In Jo's words, the situation was comparable to a hurricane arriving.

Jo then sits down with the parents to have them write a list of rules that would apply for all of their children. John and Jen introduce the rules to their children, but Abbey and Amanda become resistant to the curfew rule due to the summer weather. Jo has the younger children leave the conversation so she can sternly lecture the two oldest girls about the dangers of staying out late. Amanda admits that Jo's tone commanded respect and was effective in getting her to listen.

Jo teaches Jennifer and John how to deal with Reese's separation anxiety: put Reese in time out every time she crosses a line separating the house's driveway and the street. John drives off to the post office and Jennifer warns Reese about crossing the line. Jennifer puts Reese into time out after she crosses the line, and Reese resists. Jennifer repeatedly places her back on the time out spot, and John takes over when he returns from the post office. The time-out ends after 27 minutes.

Jo sets up a way for Amanda and Jennifer to let out their repressed thoughts. Jo has them say their thoughts out loud and throw water balloons as they say them as a form of catharsis. Amanda laments that whenever her family spent time together, Reese and Maeve would be prioritized over everyone else. Jennifer admits that she was tired of Amanda's cursing. The situation escalates as the two argue over the lack of trust toward Amanda, resulting in the latter walking off. Jo redirects Amanda and explains that she has to learn to communicate if she wants to change. Jo brings the two to a picnic table where they can have a civil discussion. The two realize that their relationship had become so hostile to the point where they couldn't remember where that break occurred. They agree to just spend time together. When Jennifer tried to hold hands with Amanda, Amanda was hesitant at first. After a little encouragement from Jo, Amanda holds hands with her mom.

DVD meeting[]

When Jo returns after leaving the family for a few days, she was eager to see the progress that the family had made.

Clip 1: Jennifer, Amanda, and Abbey spent time at a coffee shop reminiscing about the past. The three smiled and laughed, ultimately ending the outing with a promise to repeat the experience.

Clip 2: John prepared to leave the house and said goodbye to Reese. Once he left, she stayed at a table in the backyard. Once John returned, he praised Reese for not trying to run away. Jennifer realizes that the technique worked so well because she kept Reese occupied and didn't feed into any drama.

Clip 3: John struggled to follow through with giving the younger girls warnings and discipline. He believes that he was doing a bad job because the discipline techniques were so new to him, but Jo warns him against giving himself an excuse to not keep trying. He knows where he is struggling, and rather than give up, he should view his shortcomings as a learning opportunity.

Reinforcement[]

Jo realizes that the best way to help John improve with discipline is to give him a bit of practice. She hands him a sweater labelled "Student Driver," comparing him to someone just learning to drive, before giving him a pep talk. John decides to take his daughters out on a walk, but Maeve began to break away from him and throw a fit. John started by giving her a warning, but after she refuses, he puts her in time out once they return. Her timeout was over very quickly, and Jo was pleased that John followed through with discipline.

Before Jo leaves, she desperately needs to help patch the relationship between Jennifer, Amanda, and Abbey. She introduces a technique called "Old Chapter, New Chapter." For the first half, she gives each family member a sheet of paper to write their thoughts on. Amanda and Abbey reveal where they think the relationship began deteriorating. Amanda felt overlooked when Jennifer met John and questioned of why it wasn't discussed enough. Abbey also felt overlooked with not only John getting much more attenion but Reese and Maeve as well. Both of the older girls felt that they're not good enough. Jennifer finally understands what Abbey and Amanda have said and apologizes for not asking them about the marriage. The three tearfully embrace and promise to work on fixing their relationship. Jo then asks them to "talk about the next chapter" and discuss ways to mend their relationship. Amanda is happy to see that she and Abbey now have a healthy relationship with their mom, and Jennifer gives her two daughters a hug and a kiss.

Finally, Jo has the entire family come together and create a family crest. Not only will it display their values, but it will act as a family bonding exercise.

With Jennifer and John parenting together rather than separately, Reese's separation anxiety vanquished, and Jennifer and Amanda's relationship on a good start to being repaired, Jo leaves the Atkinsons.

Family members[]

Person Age (Then) Age

(Now)[]

Relation to Family
John Atkinson 39 53 Father
Jennifer "Jen" Atkinson 41 55 Mother
Amanda Livia LoCascio 14 (born July 26, 1995) 29 Daughter (Maternal)
Abbey Olivia LoCascio 13 (born December 7, 1996) 28
Julia Atkinson 10 (born April 23, 1999) 25 Daughter (Paternal)
Reese Atkinson 4 (born November 23, 2005) 19 Daughter
Maeve Atkinson 2 ½ (born September 21, 2007) 17
The child was disciplined with one of Jo Frost's techniques.

Fan Reception[]

Fans thought that The Atkinson Family was a deeply emotional episode. Many emphasized with Amanda and Abbey, sharing their experiences in being a blended family. Furthermore, they praised both parents for wanting to learn and strengthen their connections with their children and stepchildren.

While fans initially criticized Amanda's rudeness, contemporary viewers have revisited the episode and believed that she was depressed; they felt that she just didn't know how to express her pain, and was taking it out on her family. Some felt that while Jo was certainly successful in helping the family, only professional therapy would truly address the roots of the household dynamics. They also noted that Julia, the only well-behaved child, was largely ignored. A handful have wondered if a technique such as the Thought Box or journaling would have strengthened communication between her father and stepmother.

Most fans liked The Atkinson Family and viewed it as an emotional, dramatic start to Season 7 of the American Supernanny series.

Events Post-Episode[]

  • Julia and her mother moved to Alabama.
  • Amanda gave birth to a son named Damon Craig in June 2022.
  • In a YouTube comment, Reese revealed that she no longer had separation anxiety.

Trivia[]

  • This is the only U.S episode to feature a family member with separation anxiety.
    • Whilst never explicitely confirmed, it may be possible that The Harmony Family is actually the first. This is due to Grant's consistent need to always be near Erin.
  • This is the only family to use the Black Sheets technique.
  • While Off-The-Hip would normally have been used on Reese, Jo decided to use a different discipline technique, due to her seperation anxiety.
  • This episode was posted on YouTube through a different channel before Supernanny uploaded it on hers. Other families that recieved this same treatment include The Peterfreund Family, The Swift Family, The Colombo Family, and The Potter Family.
  • This is the first episode on Hulu Plus to not have the 2005-2009 opening sequence, as it was fully retired after Season 6.

Pop Culture[]

  • When Jo brought out the Black Sheets, a Guitar Hero Guitar and Drum Kit can be seen.
  • Reese has a Cinderella sippy cup.

Behind the Scenes[]

This episode was filmed in March-April 2010.

Transcript[]

The Atkinson Family Transcript

Gallery[]

External Links[]


Season 7
The Atkinson FamilyThe Peterfreund FamilyThe Swift FamilyThe Young FamilyThe Van Acker FamilyThe Fernandez FamilyThe George FamilyThe Miller FamilyThe Colombo FamilyThe Potter FamilyThe Merrill FamilyThe DeMott FamilyThe Froebrich FamilyThe Federico FamilyThe Evans Family
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