On this week’s episode of America’s Super Nanny Deborah Tillman worked with a Black family: mother, father and 10 kids with a large bullying problem that has caused a large stir.
In the episode Tillman explains “the parents hit the kids so the kids have learned to hit each other.” But the father of the family explains that he was beat with a belt as a child and that while he didn’t necessarily think he would beat his children once he was a father, “sometimes I do believe they need to be hit.”
At one point the children are talking about their sister Nevada and say, “we know that girl has something going on with her because her skin is dark…you’re the darkest person so get out. She took a shower yesterday and she’s still dark. That’s why no body ever knows where you are and every time we’re at the store you always get lost because you’re so dark. You is burnt. You look like a gorilla.” Nevada’s mother explains by saying she thinks the children picked up these ideas at school but one of her daughters reveals that she got her sentiments from her mother. When Tillman finally talks to the parents she reprimands them saying that their daughter has “no concept that black is beautiful.”
But what many leave out of their blogs and writings about this episode is the leaf experiment that Tillman used to show the children how differences in color and shape doesn’t make something more or less beautiful. And they leave out that the parents made many steps to better their family.
What do you think about the parents response to their children’s actions? Do you agree with how they parent their kids?
Watch the entire episode on mylifetime.com