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Jo ‘Supernanny’ Frost says ‘baby media’ can’t ‘teach your child anything’ in impassioned IG post Credits: Social Media
By Bruno Cooke

Jo ‘Supernanny’ Frost says ‘baby media’ can’t ‘teach your child anything’ in impassioned IG post

By Bruno Cooke

Jo Supernanny Frost posted a video on her Instagram feed on August 28, 2024, in which she offers her two cents on what she calls baby media. It cannot teach your child anything, she says, before going on to lament the sight of babies holding cell phones in their strollers. She offers six tips for those who would like to avoid reaching a stage where theyre dependent on screens for effective parenting.

I dont think theres no benefit for technology for a child, she says in her instantly recognizable London twang. People looking for parenting advice may also have come across the phrase gentle parenting, which involves deliberately moving away from hard disciplining and avoiding tantrums by keeping everything quiet and calm, and research that suggests engaging your children with your sense of humor may be the silver bullet missing from your domestic arrangement.

Lifetime's TCA Panels featuring Supernanny and The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospelat the 2020 Winter Television Critics Association Press Tour
PASADENA, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 18: Jo Frost attends Lifetime’s TCA Panels featuring Supernanny and The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel at the 2020 Winter Television Critics Association Press Tour at The Langham Huntington, Pasadena on January 18, 2020 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Lifetime)

Jo Frost rails against baby media saying it cannot teach your child anything

There is no benefit for technology for a child under the age of three, she says. 

Joanne Frost rose to prominence in the mid-2000s in the UK following the success of the reality TV show Supernanny. She was the central figure, a no-nonsense parenting guru who visited families and implemented disciplinary, behavioral, and entertainment techniques to improve their troubled lives. She worked as a nanny for 30 years, from 1989. She now lives in Orange County, California.

I say it very openly. Baby media cannot teach your child anything. Years ago, we had Baby Einstein, an American early child entertainment franchise. That was a great marketing ploy to push thousands and thousands of units.

But she recommends avoiding all forms of digital entertainment right up to the age of three.

Children explore through play, she says in her Instagram video. They learn, they observe the world, they learn safety based on the people around them. Its heartbreaking to see babies holding cell phones in their strollers instead of just observing, and seeing the trees, the sky, the birds, the person that passed them, and the puppy dog. Thats lost. 

Same in the car. Head down. Everyones head down, no one looks up. No one looks at the sky, no one looks at nature around them. And the world is feeding us every day. Its very grounding for children and yet theres not enough emphasis on the importance of it.

Supernannys six tips for avoiding screen dependency when parenting young children

In the caption to her video, Jo Frost writes that parents should absolutely be in control of what their young infants and children are absorbing mentally. And guess what? Screens are not it.

90% of your child’s brain is developed through the healthy interactions they have with their loving primary carers. Children dont get these kinds of interactions through a screen. Discovery and exploration, she adds, should be very organic.

So, she has the following six pieces of advice:

  1. Start by saying no. 
  2. Have a less but more impact routine that involves the whole family. In other words, encourage children to interact with each other regularly, and to interact with adults in the family. Allowing time for boredom can be hugely rewarding in the long run, as children find ways to fill the time they have rather than distracting themselves with screens.
  3. Create and uphold boundaries. Be consistent.
  4. Just be. Lay with your child on the floor. Embrace doing nothing together.
  5. Sleep plenty. Everybodys body needs rest to restore, she says.
  6. Invest in natural play. This could involve regular household objects like Tupperware boxes, spoons, boxes, plastic cups, and blankets. Engage in sensory play from life. At a very young age, children are naturally inquisitive. Encourage the spirit of curiosity rather than dampening it with digitally delivered entertainment. 

In the comments, lots of people have been drawing attention to Rachel Anne Accurso, better known as Ms Rachel. Shes a songwriter and educator whom people praise for her childrens music series that focuses on language development for toddlers and infants.

There will always be opposing methodologies. Ms Rachel may work for some parents, while Jo Frosts advice may work better for others.