Does anyone watch Super Nanny? On this week’s show, she helped a family with “cheeky” twin girls, 4-year-olds.
The little dickenses were cute as heck, but definitely in control of the family, especially at bedtime. They pretty much refused to go to sleep without a lot of work, and mom would end up laying down with them.
I was surprised at this little chant the girls would tease their parents with – nana nana boo boo. I thought this was original with my daughter, but I guess not.
Is nana nana boo boo part of the culture now? Something the kids learn in preschool along with Dr. Seuss? Do your kids say it?
No clue on the nana boo boo thing (mine are still in the nonsensical jabber phase) - but I thought those two girls were brats! From the cursory view given to the audience, it appeared that the only time Mom paid attention to them was when they were misbehaving, so it’s probably no surprise. Interesting that one of the changes the Nanny made was to institute some family play time.
Was the son biologically hers, or was he a stepson? Any clue on why she was so mean to him?
I remember saying something close (nanny nanny boo boo) a few decades ago when I was a kid, and was under the impression it was even older. Probably these picked it up from TV/other kids, much like childhood games and other things are passed along.
This is such a “mom” syndrome - if it’s out there, my kids invented it. I’m not trying to offend, just teasing. I also said “nanny nanny boo boo” when I was a kid, and I’m 29. And I learned it from kids older than me.
Nannny, nanny, boo boo, stick your head in doo-doo!
My sister and I sang-chanted that (nanny nanny boo boo) to each other all the time as little kids. We finished it off with tongue stuck out as far as possible. In a situation where the words and tongue were inadvisable, bouv’s nana nana naa naa variant got our point across.
I can’t even imagine what would have happened if one of us had used it on Mom or Dad, though.
I don’t know if it originated there but the melody for “nana nana boo boo” can be heard in the song “A-Tisket, A-Tasket”, which dates back to at least the Big Band era. Ella Fizgerald is one artist who recorded it.
They didn’t say, but I assume Jared was her biological son. I don’t know why he bore the brunt of her anger – probably a spillover from the girls. Getting angry with them was fruitless – she had no effect on those girls at all.
Dad looked disinterested in the whole thing. I think psychologists call that a “flat affect.” Even when he said he was enjoying playing with the kids, it didn’t look like he meant it. Seems like he just wanted to be somewhere else.
I felt so bad for Jared. What a sweetheart he was, despite everything! I’m surprised he didn’t deck the girls. He looked traumatized when Jo left, like she was the first person who actually listened to him.
Did you notice when he complained that he came home from work and was all alone since his wife was putting the girls to bed? MrValley and I looked at each other and said, “What about your poor son?”
I cried when I watched that episode (mind you, I’m pregnant…I’m sure that has nothing to do with it). I’m the oldest in my family, hubby is the oldest in his. Getting blamed and ignored is pretty par for the course, I think. Parents just don’t realize they do it.
I think Jared was her son, but not his…Nanny referred to the couple once early on as “Mom and John”, not Mom & Dad. I thought the girls were horrible little monsters, and there were so many things going on in the house I would have hoped the nanny would address, such as:
There was a lit candle on the counter all day long, every day, and the girls were often sitting near it. Sometimes mom was out of the room, leaving the girls alone with the candle. Given their penchant for throwing things, I would never leave an open flame around them.
An early scene showed the one twin dragging the toaster around because she wanted to make toast when mom was out of the room. Mom yelled at her for making a mess, but not for playing with heat producing appliances. My kids weren’t even allowed to open the refrigerator by themselves, or turn on the TV without permission at that age. Mom didn’t seem to realize that an unsupervised 4-year old can seriously burn herself or worse with a toaster.
The girls’ bedroom was downstairs right off the living room where all the action is, creating noise and attractions that would keep them from going to sleep. It seemed that the parents’ room and Jared’s were upstairs, though I may be wrong on this. So not only did they have too much stimulation too close to their bedroom, but if the parents went to sleep upstairs, the girls could get up in the middle of the night and cause untold havoc downstairs by themselves. Seems to me it would have been a good idea to give well-behaved Jared the downstairs bedroom and moved the girls up to the quieter part of the house.
I’m not trying to offend, just teasing. I also said “nanny nanny boo boo” when I was a kid, and I’m 29. And I learned it from kids older than me.
Well, you might hate it, but I find it catchy.