Saturday, September 5, 2009

Supernanny Book Review

Weekly Trip to the Library for Nannies and Au Pairs

Supernanny: How to Get the Best from Your Children is authored by Jo Frost, the host of the ABC television series Supernanny. The book is a lovely presentation. It has heavy, glossy pages, with a lot of photos. Although the book is written for parents, it is useful for nannies and au pairs since we work in the home with children.

The book is easy to read and well organized into nine sections. Jo discusses basic techniques for ages and stages, routines and rules, and setting boundaries. Then she tackles what to do if you have trouble getting kids dressed, toilet training, eating, social skills, bedtime, and quality time.

The book is brief and to the point with no long lectures. She has a simple method to use with children if you need to prevent fussy eaters from taking over mealtimes, how to talk so children will listen, how to establish a routine that works for you, and how to get the most from children and yourself.

The book focuses on child development and working with the skills and abilities a child has and helping them to grow in a positive manner. The author feels that all children can be well-behaved when given the appropriate direction, authority, and skills to do so.

Jo's methods are straightforward. She sums up each topic of the book with her top ten rules approach to caring for children which include:

1. Praise and rewards
2. Consistency
3. Routine
4. Boundaries
5. Discipline
6. Warnings
7. Explanations
8. Restraint
9. Responsibility
10. Relaxation

She explains that setting a regular routine with defined boundaries and consistency, backed up with plenty of love and attention works for everyone caring for children inside their home.

If you have a book review to share please email Stephanie @ BestNannyNewsletter.com. Stop by next Saturday for another book review for nannies and au pairs.

2 comments:

Shaun36 said...

I love Jo Frost because she is a no nonsense Nanny, but loving and fun! I like this book and I have implemented a lot of her suggestions in my routine! I like her directness with dealing with issues head on and having fun!! While I think some of us nannies would love to be able to sit down with our parents and give them a reality check like JoJo does!

Fiona Littleton said...

What's funny DeShaun is that we cannot talk to the parents the way that Jo does, obviously. But the concept of the show is creative and good. I have used her ideas too, like the "Naughty Chair." It's a cute book but I personally don't need it to look so good and be so heavy. Personally I would prefer it to be smaller and without photos because then I could carry it with me to work to look at. I like this Be the Best Nanny Newsletter for that reason, I can take the light weight newsletter to work and use it and it's not bulky. But this book looks great on a coffee table.

Just remember, we can't talk to the parents like Jo does. But, her advice is some of the best because she is a nanny too.