Norlands nanny under spotlight in new TV programme

Newbury family helped through 'gender-divide' issues

A Norlands nanny came under the spotlight when she went to the aid of a troubled Newbury family in the launch of a new C4 programme on Tuesday evening.

The Three Day Nanny features nanny Kathryn Mewes, who trained at the famed Norlands College in Hungerford, and viewers tuned in to watch as she arrived – Mary Poppins style, minus the brolly – at the Newbury home of the Morrisen family, to apply a three-day ‘fix’ to their troubles.

Former Newbury Weekly News telesales assistant Laura Elliott, aged 25, and her fiancé, Luke Morrisen, aged 26, together with their children, Frankie, aged four, and Willow, 22 months, were having problems, with Willow ‘welded’ to Laura’s hip and refusing to budge without tantrums.

Frankie’s behavioural problems included hitting his mother, spitting and swearing, refusing to wear and removing his clothes and temper tantrums.

He had, however, firmly bonded with his father, and the pair were shown happily kicking a football around.

However, the family was effectively spilt down the middle in a deep gender divide.

After close observation of both Laura and Luke interacting with the children, ‘Nanny Mewes’ decided on a ‘tough love’ approach for Frankie, with a ‘zero tolerance’ approach to his bad behaviour, by either sending him to his room, or hauling him off to stand beside a wall outside, until his howling subsided.

This, combined with encouraging praise for Frankie and the use of ‘listening bricks’ – building bricks given to him so he had a hugely obvious visual sign of his good progress – rapidly brought about a massive change in his behaviour, despite his mother confessing she was nervous about the sudden “negative to positive” change required in her response.

Laura was also encouraged to put Willow down, despite her daughter “clinging to me and screaming” – and Willow was also bundled off to a naughty step until her sobs subsided.

Luke, who broke down in tears at his lack of bonding with his daughter, was pictured delightedly receiving his first-ever hug from Willow.

Afterwards, Laura, who works at Arlington Laboratories at the Mary Hare School, Greenham, said they had applied to appear on the programme following a social media appeal by a Newbury nursery.

“We were at our wits end with the children’s behaviour,” she said, adding the experience had proved “really good and useful”.

Frankie, however, had the last word.

Despite being encouraged to wear his clothes by a huge teddy bear “guarding them” overnight, and miraculously putting them on the following morning – he was still taking them off again.

“It’s a work in progress,” said Luke.

“When it comes to Frankie and his clothes, he just doesn’t want to wear them.”