When it comes to modern-day parenting, none of us are nailing it, but we all have an opinion on how it should be done. Tackling the big questions is Channel Nine’s new series, Parental Guidance, which premieres Monday, November 1, at 7.30pm.
Allison Langdon and Australian parenting expert Dr. Justin Coulson put opinionated parents with diverse parenting methods to the test through a series of challenges in the search for Australia’s best parenting style.
Mediaweek spoke to Langdon about putting the show together and what she learned from her time on the show.
Parental Guidance hosts Dr. Justin Coulson and Ally Langdon
Parental Guidance was originally called The Parent Jury and featured Supernanny Jo Frost. As with so many projects, the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in delays. Langdon joined the project in late 2020.
“It was first raised with me late last year, I was asked if I’d be interested in coming on board. I jumped at it, I said yes straight away once the premise was explained to Justin and I.”
As for everybody else involved in the show, Langdon says they’re equally as excited to see the show get off the ground.
“Everyone’s really excited because it’s something that’s new – we haven’t seen it on Australian television before, we haven’t seen it anywhere. It’s a new concept. Parenting is one of those conversations and topics that we all have an opinion on. Some people think they’re nailing it, others like myself feel like ‘what on earth are we doing?’. It’s going to be really interesting to take a look behind closed doors and see what these families do, and look at all the different parenting styles that are out there.”
Taking Notes
Everyone has an idea about the best way to raise their kids, but for Langdon being on the show meant that she took advice from different parenting styles – including styles she didn’t think would resonate at all.
“I worked out pretty early on why I was on the show – I was the example of the bad parent! I spent most of the ad break talking to Dr. Justin Coulson, who I just love. I’d start with ‘Justin, I’ve got this friend right?’, he goes ‘uh-huh, sure you do Ally’. I’d give him an example and he’d say ‘no Ally, no, that’s not a good thing to do. That’s not a great way to parent’.
“I was really fascinated to see how each of these different styles work, and I took a little bit from all of them. That’s what I think a lot of families at home will do because there are a lot of families in the country who are probably a little bit like my husband and me who haven’t really thought about how we’re going to parent our kids – whatever we do instinctively is what happens. I know that my husband and I, we’re better parents because of this experiment, we’ve actually sat down and talked about things that I feel that we could do better.”
Working with the Kids
Langdon says that while the kids who came along for the ride were brilliant, it’s important to remember they aren’t the ones the show focuses on.
“I had a fair bit to do with all the kids who ended up in the Crowded House – that’s the bit where the top four parenting styles are thrown in a house together with all of their kids, and they each have a day in charge. It’s awesome, it was so funny. The kids had a ball. It was just like a big holiday for them. But what the show focuses on is not the kid or the kids’ behaviour or anything like that, it focuses on the parenting style.
“It was important that the kids aren’t placed under the microscope because we deal with some pretty sensitive issues. Would your child go off with a stranger? How does each family deal with discipline? There are some pretty telling things that come from that conversation. But that was really important, because there’s nothing more important to us than our kids.”
See More: Parental Guidance: Everything you need to know about the families
Some of the Parental Guidance parents
Hopes for the Show
With the topic of parenting such an emotional one for many people across Australia, Langdon says she really hopes the show starts a conversation in homes across the country.
“I don’t think when we get to the end of this experiment you can actually say one way is the only way.
“When it comes to parenting, I think we’re all pretty opinionated. So to have 10 brave parents put themselves forward and say, ‘Hey, this is how we do it and we think it’s working, let’s put it to the test’, it’s a pretty intriguing concept.”
Waking up with Today
January will mark two years since Langdon took over as Today co-host alongside Karl Stefanovic. Langdon says that broadcasting as the country goes through lockdowns has been a unique experience.
Tim Davies, Karl Stefanovic, Allison Langdon, Alex Cullen, Brooke Boney
“I feel like 2021 has been like three years crammed into one. I feel like it’s been a really long year, and we’re all looking forward to the day where we don’t have to say the word Covid anymore. We felt the pressure this year more than last year in regards to the content because the pandemic has dragged over into a second year, we get how weary people are. People have done it a lot tougher this year than last year whether that goes to their mental health, or job security, or homeschooling. It’s been brutal for many, many people.
“It’s been wonderful for me to sit next to Karl for the past two years. We’ve known each other for years but obviously haven’t worked this closely together. He’s a person I completely trust, and I know he’s got my back. I couldn’t have asked for a better co-host and a better team during what has been a really, really difficult time for everyone in this country and around the world.”
Parental Guidance, premieres Monday, November 1, at 7.30pm on Channel Nine and 9Now