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All New House of Tiny Tearaways

A young father with his baby daughter
  • Posted at 12:22pm
  • 29 November 2007
  • by RhodriMarsden-RT
  • 6 comments

Typical BBC3, I thought. Let's ratchet up the viewing figures by sticking three dysfunctional families - including six babies - into a house to live together, fill the place with cameras, and then just sit back and wait for the whole thing to turn into chaos, like the main square of a European town before a major international football clash.

In fact, it ended up being a surprisingly sensitive look at child rearing - although I've got to say that this is a subject I'm about as familiar with as the history of the crossbow, cat breeding, or rolling stock on the west coast mainline.

But it is only day two of a month-long project, so there are still plenty of opportunities for small children to start setting about each other with ice-cream scoops, or for the women in the house to start calling each other slags. For now, though, it's just a load of tired parents being given some sound advice.

Child experts Laverne and Elizabeth observe the three families around the clock, assessing their parenting skills and wincing when the children release ear-splitting screams whenever they're vaguely bored.

Laverne and Elizabeth are, as you might expect, well-spoken middle-class women, while the adults in the house are slightly vague, slobby, mumbling creatures (hilariously, much of the programme has to be subtitled) who start swearing at the drop of a rattle, and for whom the concept of getting up before 9:00am seems completely alien.

So the main tension in the house is really between the experts and the parents. The experts come across as holier-than-thou, issuing their slightly terse instructions in an authoritative manner, while the parents clearly just wish they'd both bog off and leave them alone.

What's immediately obvious, though, is that as soon as the parents bother following the instructions they've been given, the improvement is massive and immediate. Kids stop whining. They go to bed when they're told. They eat their food without being harangued. It's like magic.

So each set of parents is slowly and reluctantly coming round, albeit after plenty of inter-family bickering. One of the parents is a single mum, which has upset the balance of the house somewhat. One of the other mums is clearly threatened by her presence, and we're immediately introduced to her world of paranoia where any woman within three feet of her husband represents an irresistible temptation for him, regardless of whether the woman in question adores his sticking-out ears or, more likely, not.

A more tragic tale is of the 17-year-old couple comprising a can-do mum and a sullen, dead-eyed dad who has no real interest in being in the house save for the money he's presumably being paid by BBC3. Towards the end of the programme, the young mum burst into tears while talking to Laverne, saying that she hated him.

"He's given me something I can't cope with," she cried, and you couldn't help but let out a long sigh of sympathy. This was echoed by Elizabeth, who made lots of "ah, bless" noises immediately afterwards.

Anyway, I was flabbergasted to find myself engaged by a programme I'd never normally have tuned in to. Of course, you're basically watching a load of people parent really badly, so of course it's sensationalist telly - but at least it seems to be sensationalist telly with some kind of conscience. But hang on, what's coming up on BBC3? Oh, here we go again - another episode of Can Fat Teens Hunt?. Strewth.

All New House of Tiny Tearaways is on BBC3 (Sky 115, Virgin 106, Freeview 7).

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Comments

  • Posted on 07 March 2008
  • at 6:43pm
  • by Danii-Mary-x
I TOtaly Agree Dr.Tanya WAs Far Better Than TheSe Other PeOple , DO YOuu KnOw if She DOes Any Other PrOgrammeS ? AlsO That SammY PersOn Was Very AnnOying !!!RiteeBakk SoOn L.Y
  • Posted on 11 December 2007
  • at 12:06pm
  • by sarahgreen
i am loving this show!!!! made me cry last night!! the two psychologist's are superb... can't get enough! i find it very thought provoking...... good luck to all the families involved! sarah
  • Posted on 10 December 2007
  • at 12:39am
  • by tracey100

Psychologists have doctorates and are not medical doctors!!!!!! Anyone can study and get this title these days....love the show just like Dr Who felt that it was time for a change and great to see how other psychologists 'do it' My mums a psychologist and really dislikes the hype around the Dr bit..just a bit of TV BS.... and guess what so many people buy it!!!!!!

  • Posted on 09 December 2007
  • at 1:12am
  • by gilll
Does anyone else find Sammy Butters as irritating as I do ? Her poor husband, Four kids and one on the way. And that lazy mare to contend with. All she ever says is ' DAVID' 'I dont want too' 'I cant be bothered'. And as soon as she showed signs of bolting - 'I want to go home' wouldnt let the poor man go on a day trip out - 'its not fair' The psychologists panicked and went into over drive, showering her with false praise, until she ended up sitting in the consultation room, grinning and clapping, like a three year old who knew they were getting sweets. This really annoyed me, Its unbelievable, will anyone ever just tell her that life isnt fair, your children come first, and you have to pull your finger out and get on with it, Play with them. Its what mums do. Mum of three - inc three old twin boys.
  • Posted on 04 December 2007
  • at 8:47pm
  • by val*

i loved this programme with dr tanya its just not the same now

  • Posted on 29 November 2007
  • at 1:43pm
  • by Linzk425

I was a big fan of the previous presenter, Dr Tanya Byron, because she was a real doctor, a decent psychologist, and a parent. She had a clue what she was talking about. And it wasn't all about modifying the children's behaviour, but about looking at the family as a whole and modifying everyone's behaviour. Which is far more important.

She went on to co-write Viv Vyle...

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