(Annoyed grunt)
(Narrator) Tonight on Supernanny
(Screaming)
(Narrator) In a Supernanny first
(Jo) Hello!
(Narrator) Jo works with two deaf parents,
(Narrator) who have four children that can hear.
(Daughter) Well-
(Mother) Stop it.
(Narrator) The three youngest kids take advantage of their parents' disability.
(Daughter) Yes papa.
(Narrator) Pushing them to the breaking point.
(Screaming)
(Interpreter) I swear it is. It's just too much stress.
(Daughter) That's not my problem.
(Narrator) And forcing the teenager to act as a third hearing parent.
(Teen Daughter) You can leave, but you're going to bed early and you're not getting no snack.
(Narrator) But the pressure and responsibility is tearing her apart.
(Teen Daughter) You want my help only if I'm babysitting or to clean the house.
(Teen Daughter) To be your maid or something.
(Teen Daughter) When I'm home, I don't get treated
(Teen Daughter) with respect.
[Censored]
(Jo) Melissa?
(Melissa) Get off of me.
(Narrator) Can Jo help this family communicate?
(Jo) Melissa?
(Jo - recorded) She doesn't know.
(Narrator) Or, will they fall to pieces?
(Dramatic musical sting)
[Theme Song: 'Be Good Johnny' by Men At Work]
[Background guitar music]
(Jo) Well, I'm here in Papillion, Nebraska, and there's a family that needs my help.
(Jo) So let's take a look.
(Dorthy's Interpreter) Hello! We are the Baulisch family.
(Dorthy's Interpreter) I'm Dorthy.
(Kip's Interpreter) And I'm Kip.
(Dorthy's Interpreter) And we have four children.
(Melissa) Hi, I'm Melissa. I'm 18.
(Melissa) I have three little sisters.
(Melissa) Jessica is the oldest.
(Melissa) Jennifer - 7.
(Screaming)
(Melissa) and Kristin - 5.
(Kristin) I don't like that!
(Dorthy's Interpreter) And all four of our children are hearing.
(Jo) Well, this is going to be an experience for me.
(Jo) Working with deaf parents who have hearing children.
(Annoyed grunt)
(Dorthy's Interpreter) Jennifer is very, very explosive. She's angry.
(Jennifer-shouting) No!
(Melissa) Jessica, she's not as bad as Jennifer.
(Jessica) No!
(Melissa) But, she's very sneaky.
(Jessica) You pull hair all the time.
(Melissa) Kristin, she's the baby of the family.
(Melissa) Of course, the baby always gets what they want.
(Screaming)
(Melissa) Sometimes I feel like my sisters take advantage of my s- of my parents being deaf.
(Kristin) You put it back.
(Dorthy) No. You put it back at dinner.
(Kristin) That's not my problem.
(Melissa) My mom, she disciplines, but, I don't think she disciplines 'em...
(Melissa)...that well.
(Dorthy's Interpreter) Because they're devils!
(Dorthy's Interpreter) They don't listen!
(Dorthy's Interpreter) All three of the girls, they think that because we're deaf, they can be wild.
(Kip's Interpreter) I've got wild kids on my hands here.
(Kip's Interpreter) It's very stressful.
(Jo) Cheeky.
(Kip) Kristin, go to bed.
(Kristin) No!
(Melissa) At bedtime, my sisters are crazy. They don't-
(Melissa) go to sleep on time.
(Jessica) Kiss my butt.
(Jennifer) You are so a brat!
(Jennifer) Shut up!
(Kip) No.
(Jo) What kind of bedtime is this?
(Jennifer) No!
(Dorthy's Interpreter) We do have challenges with communicating.
(Melissa) Jessica knows some sign language, but it's not fluent.
(Melissa) fluent cause my mom talks.
(Kristin shouting)
(Kristin crying)
(Jo) This is crazy.
(Jo) These parents are not even teaching their kids American sign language.
(Jo) How can they communicate properly?
(Melissa) There's a little bit of a strained relationship between me and Kip.
(Melissa) He's my step-dad. Sometimes we just stay away from each other.
(Melissa) It's like he's not really involved in what I'm doing.
(Jo) This is really sad to see.
(Melissa) I feel that I have a lot of responsibilities on me.
(Melissa) Mom, how is it my responsibility? You're the mother, not me.
(Melissa) I'm kind of like the hearing mother in a way.
(Jessica) Ow!
(Melissa) Stop! Kristin! Knock it off.
(Jo) These parents need to take responsibility of what's theirs.
(Melissa) I feel like sometimes that I didn't really live a normal teenage life.
(Melissa) I had to grow up really fast.
(Melissa) You can leave, but you're going to bed early and you're not getting no snack.
(Jessica) I do not like it no more.
(Melissa) You can pick. I'll let you pick.
(Melissa) I just want to be this sister.
(Melissa) I want to be there for them, not their mother.
(Jo) This just isn't fair for this poor girl.
(Dorthy's Interpreter) I just feel like, uh, giving up.
(Dorthy's Interpreter) With them. With the rules and disciplining. We need help.
(Jessica groans)
(Dorthy's Interpreter) We need your help Supernanny!
(Jo) Well, these parents certainly need my help.
(Jo) I better get on my way.
[Music becomes light and upbeat]
[Ding-Dong]
(Jo and Dorthy) Hello!
(Jo) Pleased to meet you.
(Dorthy) Nice meeting you.
(Jo) Pleased to meet you.
(Dorthy) Come on in.
(Interpreter) When I first saw Jo, and she came into my home, I felt relieved
(Interpreter) to see her when she got there.
(Jo) So, I'll come up.
(Jo) I was welcomed very warmly.
(Jo) And I was very pleased to see that the interpreter was there already to help me.
(Jo) be able to have full communication with this family.
(Jo) Who do we have here?
(Kristin) Kristin.
(Jo) I'm Jo-Jo, and how old are you?
(Kristin) Five.
(Jo) Five.
(Jessica) I'm Jessica.
(Jo) You're Jessica. And how old are you Jessica?
(Jessica) Eight.
(Jo) You're eight. And you're...
(Jennifer) Jennifer.
(Jo) Hi Jennifer, pleased to meet you.
(Jo) You're Melissa. Laughs
(Melissa) Hi.
(Jo) Hi Melissa. Pleased to meet you.
(Melissa) Nice to...
(Melissa- cutaway) When I first saw Jo, I couldn't believe that it was really happening.
(Dorthy's Interpreter) My husband.
(Jo) Hi! Pleased to meet you.
(Melissa) That's Kip.
(Jo) So, today, I'm gonna be observing your family.
(Jo) So please, just carry on.
[Intense Piano Music]
(Jo) I wasn't in the house long when I saw a clear example of how the children ignore their own mother.
(Jo) They don't look at her facial expressions or her signs.
(Jo) The girls completely ignore their Mom.
(Jo) She asked them to put their shoes away, and they just walked on by.
(Dorthy) Jessica!
(Dorthy) Where are you going?
(Jennifer) It's easy to get away, because-
(Jennifer) with stuff because my Mom and Dad are deaf.
(Girls laughing)
(Jo) What were they doing down there?
(Interpreter) Jennifer's sister and... whispers and I can't see what she's talking.
(Interpreter) Jennifer, I- I can't hardly read her lips cause she covers her hands, see.
(Dorthy) I don't like for them to be talking behind my back like that.
(Jo) Some kids do speak behind their parents backs.
(Jo) But because these parents are deaf, their kids do it right underneath their nose.
(Jessica) No!
(Jo) And I think that's just disrespectful.
(Jo) And it's not just the older girls that disrespect mom.
(Jo) The younger girl, Kristin, does the same.
(Kristin laughs)
(Interpreter) You want some lunch?
(Girl off-screen) I'm thirsty.
(Jo) Did you understand what your mom was saying?
(Jo) No.
(Jo - cutaway) You know, not only do these kids choose to ignore their parents,
(Jo - cutaway) but they don't know enough American Sign Language either.
[Birds Tweeting]
(Jo) Because Melissa's very good at sign language, it means that her parents rely on her all the time.
(Jo) She becomes their interpreter 24/7.
[Clanging]
(Melissa) Stop hitting, Jessica. Jessica stop. Right now.
(Melissa) Do I have to put these away?
(Jessica) No!
(Melissa) Pick this up.
(Jennifer) That's not mine.
(Melissa) Whose is it? Jessica?
(Melissa) Come here
(Jessica) Why?
(Melissa) Because I said 'come pick this up'
(Jo) I can see that Melissa's in a very difficult situation.
(Jo) So I wanted to have a little talk with her just to see how she's holding up.
(Jo) What does it feel like for you, as an 18 year old,
(Jo) having the responsibility of taking care of your three younger sisters?
(Melissa) I just feel bad because they don't listen to my Mom, but they'll listen to me.
(Jo) But I'm interested in what it makes you feel.
(Melissa) I get- I get overwhelmed.
(Melissa) sometimes.
(Jo) Let's talk about this in your room.
(Jo) Melissa's had a responsibility of a third parent,
(Jo) and that's a lot for her to handle
(Jo) As a young adult. I mean she's 18 years old.
(Melissa) I just think it'd be, like, it'd be really good for us to be able to communicate,
(Melissa) if we're all on the same page.
(Melissa) you know.
(Jo) So the biggest thing that your parents could give you right now would be what?
(Melissa) Just take care of my sisters and- I just want what's best for my sisters.
(Jo) But what's-
(Melissa) but like, help me out too in a way, you know?
(Melissa) Just be there for me when I need them.
(Melissa) I don't even have time to be a kid anymore. Like, that's over now.
(Jo) So what- what- what you're really saying,
(Jo) even though that you're an 18-year old woman, and you hold down two jobs, and you earn your own dollar,
(Jo) Inside, there's just still this little girl that wants to be held, huh?
(Jo) Really? Huh? Seriously? Huh? As an 18-year old?
(Jo) Hmm?
(Melissa) Yeah.
(Jo) You still want to be able to reach out to your mom and go, 'Mom, this is how I'm feeling'
(Jo) Huh?
(Melissa) Yes.
(Jo) Hm?
(Jo) Well we're gonna work on this.
(Jo) Together.
(Narrator) Coming up on Supernanny
(Jennifer) Well!
(Dorthy) Stop it.
(Narrator) Things go badly at bedtime.
(Interpreter) Please, please, please. I just need your help.
(Narrator) And later...
(Interpreter) I know we're parents, but I think being deaf-
(Jo) That doesn't make you any less a parent because you are deaf.
(Narrator) Jo's not in the mood to hear excuses.
(Jo) It's your responsibility, not Melissa's.
(Narrator) When Supernanny returns.
[Snippet of 'Be Good Johnny' by Men at Work]
[Slow gloomy background music]
(Jo) Kip has been Melissa's step-father for nine years.
(Jo) And for those nine years, it's been very strained.
(Jo) I wanted to talk to him and find out more.
(Jo) You have a relationship with Melissa that...is-
(Interpreter) No, I really don't.
(Jo) You don't have one.
(Interpreter) We just don't get along.
(Interpreter) She says she hate me. Yet it hurts me.
(Interpreter) I gotta admit. You know, I have see- I can sit alone and- and even cry about it because there's no relationship between us.
(Interpreter) I do love her. I love Melissa.
(Interpreter) But...she needs...we need to- our relationship, our family, and our future.
(Interpreter) We just need to improve all of this.
(Jo) I appreciate that.
(Jo) Thank you.
[Brass March Music]
(Jo) It was in the afternoon when I got to talk to Kip,
(Jo) And I realized that the kids treat him just like they do their mother.
(Jo) Nobody listens.
(Kristin) No!
(Kristin shouting)
(Interpreter) I didn't give her perm-