The Pollard-Morris Family is the sixth episode of series 3 of the British Supernanny and is the 21st episode of the (U.K.) Supernanny show.
Sypnopsis[]
"Three year old Matthew is spreading misery throughout the Pollard-Morris home. But when Supernanny Jo Frost arrives, she makes an unexpected diagnosis. She sees mum's tendency to mollycoddle Matthew as a key factor in the unhappy toddler's problem behaviour. But can mum Trisha find the strength to resist her instinct to baby the children?" - supernanny.co.uk
Full Sypnopsis[]
Observation[]
Jo visits the Pollard-Morris family and as she observes, the boys are playing with water pistols and Matthew begins crying, because Trisha doesn't have any left. After knocking over chairs, Matthew gets one of the two pistols, but starts the waterworks again when he gets sprayed. When it's James' turn for the water pistol, Matthew throws it on the ground and knocks over a table, nearly hurting Francesca. Darren comes outside and tells off Matthew for his behaviour, but doesn't give him enough discipline. James hits Matthew and wishes that he fell and broke his neck. As a result, he is pulled aside to his room by Jo. Jo has a conversation with James, asking why he is attacking Matthew. James replies to Jo that he hates Matthew and wants him to stop moaning. Darren goes to work and Trisha, unfortunately, is left to deal with lunchtime. Matthew nearly knocks over the dinner table and refuses to eat his food. Trisha threatens him by calling Darren, because of his behaviour, but he doesn't take her seriously. After lunch, Matthew is upset once more, because he's not getting a lolly, since he didn't eat his lunch. After setting off, Matthew has two dummies and despite Trisha's threats, he is finally allowed to have a lolly, but it doesn't cheer up Matthew. James asks why Matthew is unhappy and Trisha responds by saying that Matthew is always inconsolable and is always whining. At dinner, Darren returns from work and during this meal time, Supernanny notices that no one is talking to each other and the only thing to do is keep up with the kids' demands. James wants a drink in a can, but Trisha doesn't allow him. But after complaining, Trisha allows him to have a can. Supernanny has finished her observation and tells Darren and Trisha what they've been recently doing to their kids.
Teaching[]
Jo returns and introduces a red bench called the Naughty Bench to James (8 minutes), and Matthew (3 minutes). Matthew proceeds to misbehaving, leading him to the Naughty Bench for 3 minutes. Matthew resists for 30 minutes, but eventually concedes in spite of trying to control his time on the Naughty Bench. Afterwards, Supernanny starts taking away Matthew and Francesca's pacifiers for daytime use, in weaning them off of their dummies. She compensates by distracting Matthew and Francesca with toys. Later that evening, the youngest childrens' dummies were returned, but Matthew resists his glass of milk before bedtime. But he didn't go to bed upset as he sucks on his pacifier for the last time.
The next day, Supernanny talks to Luke and James about the lack of attention they receive. They jot down notes which will be shared later. The parents then announced to Matthew and Francesca that the Binky Fairies needed to take their pacifiers, as part of the next stage in weaning them off of their dummies. The younger children were so wrapped up in the story, they happily slept without the dummies.
The following morning, Matthew and Francesca went to the tree and got their presents in exchange for their pacifiers. Luke and James then present their concerns to Darren and Trisha. Francesca was later invited to the main dining room with the help of a booster seat. James had a minor play up, but a stern warning did the trick. Supernanny then leaves the family to perform the test run.
Family Test Run[]
The test run starts off good, with Matthew and Francesca continuing to deal with bedtimes without dummies. But 2 days after Supernanny had left, Matthew kicks off again and hurts Darren with small knives and forks. Darren tells off Matthew and confiscates the knives and forks, which makes him begin crying. Darren gives Matthew a warning for crying and leaves Trisha to put him on the Naughty Bench for 3 minutes when he continues whining. Matthew spends his time on the bench, but throws shoes everywhere on the floor. Trisha gets a sorry from Matthew and cleans up the mess up. Later, Trisha decides to go out of the house, but Matthew wants her to stay. Trisha calls Darren to discipline Matthew and after she leaves, Matthew screams and tells his father to go away. Matthew continues screaming and disturbs one of the boys. Darren calms down Matthew and gives him a hug. As the week without Supernanny continues, Matthew wanders out of the house. Trisha, who is on the phone, gives Matthew a warning, and immediately takes him to the Naughty Bench. Matthew stays on the bench again, but he screams at the top of his lungs. 3 minutes later, Trisha gets a screaming apology from Matthew. At the end of the week, Matthew refuses to clean up his toys and Trisha puts his pajamas on him. Before she finishes, Trisha becomes fed up with Matthew.
Reinforcements and Follow-up[]
Trisha was re-taught how to follow through with disciplining Matthew, and teaching Matthew how to give a proper apology without screaming. Matthew was then taught how to pick up the shoes he threw after his time-out. Luke, James, and Darren went on a bike ride as a way of bonding.
Family Members[]
| Person | Age | Relation to Family |
|---|---|---|
| Darren Morris | 32 (born 1973-1975) | Father to Matthew and Francesca/Stepfather to Luke and James |
| Trisha Pollard | 25 (born 1980-1981) | Mother |
| Luke Pollard | 12 (born January 21, 1994) | Son (Maternal) |
| James Pollard | 8 (born February 8, 1998) | |
| Matthew Morris | 3 (born April 4, 2003) | Son |
| Francesca Morris | 1½ (born November 11, 2004) | Daughter |
| The child was disciplined via one of Jo Frost's techniques. |
| The child was not disciplined via one of Jo Frost's techniques, but was warned that they would be should they repeat a disliked behavior. |
Pop Culture[]
- When Jo arrives James could be seen with a can of Fanta. and Luke is seen holding a can of Dr Pepper.
- Matthew has a Barney toy in his room.
- A plush replica of Gloria from Madagascar can be seen in Matthew's bed.
- Matthew can be seen playing with Thomas the Tank Engine toys.
- In the intro, Matthew was playing on a PlayStation 2 before James turned off his TV.
- Matthew has Manchester United F.C. Pyjamas, and Luke had an England T-shirt for both rugby and football.
- Matthew has a Star Wars poster in his room.
- A Game Boy Color could be seen when Matthew fights his mother in his room.
- A Dora The Explorer birthday card could be seen in Matthew's room.
- Matthew has a Spider-Man Bedding in his room.
- There was a BBCi game for CBeebies on the TV, when Matthew gets upset over his mum leaving the house.
Fan Reception[]
This episode has been received with mixed to negative reception. Many disliked Matthew's relentless crying and tantrums, though many understand his behavior due to his age. Some people also often consider him to be one of the most annoying children to appear on Supernanny. Trisha and Darren were also not well liked due to telling Matthew off simply for being sad, and Trisha calling Matthew a "git" over the phone when he wandered out of the house during the Family Test Run, and for Darren's abusive behavior towards James in the Beyond the Naughty Step segment.
Trivia[]
- Trisha is tied with Ashley from The McKinney Family, Kristin from The Hallenbeck Family, Jenniffer from The Bowersock Family, and Clarissa from The Esquivel Family for being the fourth-youngest parent on Supernanny at the time of filming, all at 25 years old. The third-youngest is a tie between Brandy from The Doyle Family, Shannon from The Kerns Family, and Bethany from The Garcia Family at 24 years old, the second-youngest is Anthony (also from The Garcia Family) at 23 years old, but the youngest parent overall is Samantha from The George Family at 20 years old.
- Darren put Matthew in timeout for crying, similar to what Shannon did with Brandon in The Kerns Family.
- Although in the latter's case, Jo approved of the timeout.
- Trisha is the youngest Supernanny mother to give birth/adopt at the time, as she had Luke at the age of 13.
- When Darren disciplines Matthew for attempting to stab him, his crying/screaming strangely sounds similar to Richard Rabbit's from Peppa Pig.
- In 2024, Darren is 49, Trisha is 43, Luke is 30, James is 26, Matthew is 21, and Francesca is 20.
Gallery[]
Behind The Scenes[]
This episode was filmed in April 2006, shortly after Matthew's 3rd birthday.
External Links[]
| Series 3 |
|---|
| The Hillhouse-Docherty Family • The Howat Family • The Brown-Smith Family • The Bates Family • The Williams Family • The Pollard-Morris Family |