Supernanny Jo Frost Accuses Parents Of Being ‘Lazy’ And ‘Enabling’ Since Teachers Potty Train Five-Year-Olds And Toddlers Use Pacifiers

Sep 19, 2020

Parenting, while rewarding, can be a struggle. While every parent should want their child to hit milestones in a reasonable amount of time, it may be more difficult for some children.

In a controversial Tweet from 2018, Joanne "Jo" Frost (a.k.a. the Supernanny) criticized parents for exactly this problem, suggesting that lazy parenting leads to children who are unable to grow up. And as of this September, it seems that Jo, who married Darrin Jackson a few years back, might be interested in having children of her own. We'll have to wait and see whether she practices what she preaches.

For many children, the amount of time spent on milestones can be limited. It can be based on how much their parents work, where they go to school, or when they are or aren't ready.

It is normal for children to develop at their own pace. However, is it possible that some parents are not stepping up to the plate and helping their child properly develop?

Jo Frost, the former host of the now-discontinued television show Supernanny, took to Twitter to take the opinions of parents after realizing there were students that were five and six years old and still in diapers.

In her tweet, Frost wrote, “Toddler still on pacifiers; teachers potty training 5 YO; 6 YO still in pushchairs; bottoms still being wiped at 7 YO. Have parents become lazy, enabling?”

Jo’s tweet, as expected, received a lot of responses.

Some mothers, agreeing with Frost, expressed outrage and annoyance, tweeting, “Wow that is all so wrong! How embarrassing going to school and not being toilet trained.”

Other mothers, while upset, focused on the child’s welfare rather than directly chastising the parent, saying, “Not fair on the child.”

Not everyone fully agreed with Jo. Some mothers defended the notion that children develop at their own pace, tweeting, “Although it is not ideal - sometimes children take a bit longer or parents' circumstances don’t make it possible."

"Not always about laziness in my opinion.” Another mother tweeted, “I don't believe in pushing children to do something just because they have reached a certain age. If you push some kids too soon it just puts them back.”

It turns out that Jo might have to face the realities of parenting and having her own children in the near future. In an Express article from this year, the 50-year-old former Supernanny spoke out on whether she wanted to have children with husband Darrin Jackson.

"The idea of kids seems nice but we've never been in the space where we've said, 'Let's have children,'" the former television star said.

Parents who are still upset about Jo's 2018 tweet will just have to wait and see whether Jo practices what she preaches as a parent.

Jo mentioned excluding children with special needs. What do you think? Was she justified in addressing what may be parental laziness? Chime in and see what other parents think.