Folks — Below is a 1-minute taste of the 13-part reality show I host, “World’s Worst Mom.” It’s like The Supernanny, except instead of dealing with out-of-control KIDS I deal with PARENTS and their out-of-control worries — like the mom who would only let her son stand on his skateboard on the lawn and NOT MOVE. Or the mom who’d take the family’s freshly cooked dinner and nuke it for 5 minutes to kill the germs. Or the mom who insisted her 13-year-old son still come with her into the ladies room.
I spent five days with each of these families, and at the end, 12 of the 13 changed to the point where they could barely remember WHY they had been so afraid.
“I’m a mother of four and prior to meeting Lenore I literally did EVERYTHING for them, from cleaning to cooking to laundry, etc. I didn’t allow my children to take part in any type of activities unless I was with them. My eldest child at the time was 16 and I had NEVER allowed him to take the bus. Yes — I was super overprotective with my children and lo and behold, Lenore came into my life and literally helped me with my crazy issues. I have never been happier as my children help me clean, cook and most importantly, I don’t have to drive them everywhere as they take the bus! Woo hoo! Words can’t express how thankful I am to have met Lenore. Miss her so much!” — S.C., Ontario mom of four
The show airs on Slice TV in Canada and on Discovery/TLC International in a whole lot of the rest of the world (Russia, Australia, Latin America, Poland, Italy, and it is particularly popular in England). But it has yet to find a U.S. home. So, if you know of a TV executive, or if you ARE Ben Sherwood, Jeff Zucker, Joshua Sapan, or if you happen to be in charge of scouting programs for any TV, cable or web channel, please take a look. Feel free to drop a private note at heylenore3@gmail.com. Thanks! — Lenore
22 Comments
I have wanted to see your show since I first caught the promo (not to mention your segment on Penn & Teller’s BS!). If the TV networks are dragging their heels, could you try licensing the existing episodes to Hulu+ ? I’ve tried watching it on Slice, but I live in the US and it doesn’t play here. As a fan, I really hope your show makes it. Good Luck!
This is an awesome show, and it never should have been cancelled after the first season. Maybe CBC would pick it up?
Jake has a good point. Maybe try Amazon and Netflix as well.
I loved watching this show on Slice. I laughed, I cried, I found it enormously moving and uplifting.
I prayed that there would be more and more and MORE of these. How could people not be moved and inspired by these families? It’s GOOD TV.
I’m sad about the name, though. On Slice, it’s called “Bubble Wrap Kids,” and it looks like elsewhere, it’s called “World’s Worst Mom,” which I guess is supposed to play on Lenore’s original media handle, but I reject that title entirely, because I’d like to think that we’ve moved on from demonizing parents who make choices to allow their kids to grow up, and now just need some reminders about how to practically take steps to release them from their paranoia prison we built for them.
Here are some other ideas for this show’s title:
Free the Kids
Fearless Families
Fearless Parenting
Parents: CTFO
Throwback Parenting
Parent-noid no more
Darenting
Life: Unchaperoned
Parent like nobody’s watching
Safety is Killing Us
Kids in Captivity
or, just simply: “Free Range Kids.” Says it all, right? What’s wrong with that one? There’s even a book and a blog to cross-market with.
Please someone make this available in the US! Please!!!
Oh wow, you’re trying to bring this to people’s attention again, good. It’s still unbelievable that of all places, the *USA* hasn’t broadcasted this…
What are they thinking, that you are the only one who wants to see this show on TV?
“and at the end, 12 of the 13 changed…”
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE 13TH!!! WHAT HAPPENED TO THE 13TH!!!
oh and Lenore? you’re a hottie!!
I agree, Gary. Even in her un-made-for-TV state, she is a lovely gal.
What Gary said!
“WHAT HAPPENED TO THE 13TH!!! WHAT HAPPENED TO THE 13TH!!!”
He used to crayons to draw a picture of gun. The gun discharged, and …
You can’t win ’em all, I guess. Alas.
I looked everywhere for this show when it came out, but couldn’t get it in the US. It would be great to see it here!
I am not Jeff Zucker, but I play him on television… :^D
Okay, what happened to the thirteenth (which was actually the 11th episode, if memory serves, ‘Welcome to the Nuthouse’ < the sign on their door).
These two parents were absolutely insanely obsessed with kidnapping. Really crazy paranoid. Mom was worst, but dad agreed with his wife.
Lenore, ehm… seemed not quite on the same page. She managed to persuade the mom into letting her darling kids (4 of them, three girls of 9, 8, 6 and a boy of 5) go to a birthday party in a bowling center without them (that included being driven by any other person than mom or dad), and guess what? All survived (even Lenore, who actually mentioned the possibility of being murdered by these two 😛 ).
Then Lenore had the family come over to downtown NYC where the parents grew up and the kids could follow a self-defence class – that also worked, dad was now more on Lenore's side that the kids deserved more of the freedom HE'd had when he was young, despite having been beaten up pretty bad one time. Mom was still suspicious as ever, and she really DID NOT LIKE IT when Lenore and dad convinced her to let the two older girls walk home from school by themselves (girls loved it) and she was also not amused when they went to some kind of – what was it? – amusement park or maybe kid-oriented museum/infocenter – something like that, and Lenore brought the older two to the other side of the building so they could find their own way back to the meeting point (where mom wanted to go back to IMMEDIATELY, running, complaining that she wore the wrong shoes for running).
Afterwards the kids were allowed to go a few more yards away from their parents when going to public places (instead of walking next to them or closely in front) and they could now play in the fenced in backyard, instead of only on the deck.
I honestly wonder how those girls are doing now – they were so cheerful then but the lack of freedom must feel even more crippling now that they're teenagers.
So technically the score is more like 12,5, the other 0,5 being this anxiety disorder/Mean World Syndrome+++ mom.
Does Netflix have a model for offering independent or ‘foreign’ productions? Regardless, that’s a good thought — if they don’t have one, maybe Lenore can be the first. 😀
Problem is, those TV execs no doubt recognise themselves (or worse, their wives) in the stories and automatically reject the memory.
Which makes perfect business sense as it is the same reaction their customers (read viewers and cable network execs) will have, which is bad for business.
Abroad, it is popular because it ‘shows how idiotic those silly Americans are’, which sense of comedy overpowers the signs of recognition people there too experience.
Maybe were you to make a similar series about Canadian families (which is no doubt possible) it would be highly popular in the US, maybe on Comedy Channel.
@J. T. Wenting
“Maybe were you to make a similar series about Canadian families”
Here’s one Canadian blogger’s rant about Canada today versus what it was like in his childhood in the 1970s:
http://rwwatkinsvsthecbccanadasbarmycensors.blogspot.com/2010/07/canada-day-coverage-2009-good-place-to.html
I was able to watch episodes of your show on TLC when I lived in Bulgaria and loved it! I just assumed that it was a US show, so I am really surprised TLC in America hasn’t picked it up. Worth watching and learning from!
Ooooh! I want it in Belgium too!
@Reziac “Does Netflix have a model for offering independent or ‘foreign’ productions?”
Yes, they have a lot of foreign productions. I just finished watching The Returned (originally Les Revenants), a French mini-series. Very creepy.
They also have made-for-Netflix productions like House of Cards.
“Bubble Wrap Kids” and “World’s Worst Mom” don’t describe the show.
I like ‘Free Range Kids’
I’ve heard of it somewhere… Can’t remember where…
@JT Wenting: The show is made by Canadians and at least some of the 13 families live in/near Toronto.
“Abroad, it is popular because it ‘shows how idiotic those silly Americans are'”
You’re right on that one. I’d never heard of that host, but a mom who won’t let her 10yo use a knife??? I had to see that idiocy!
I love this! My whole family would watch. Maybe try uLive?