• by Adam Buckman , Featured Columnist, December 14, 2022

The do’s and don’t’s of parenting are put to the test in “The Parent Test,” a new unscripted series coming to ABC this week.

An ABC press release uses words such as “provocative,” “emotional” and “impassioned” to describe the show.

Few would argue that parenting is “emotional.” And the discussions the show promises about the effectiveness of conflicting parenting styles might certainly be “impassioned.”

Whether the show is provocative remains to be seen, but past TV shows on the subject of parenting have been provocative, eye-opening and sometimes shocking.

Most notable were the shows starring child-care superstar Jo Frost, aka Supernanny. Her show, “Supernanny,” seen on ABC from 2005 to 2011, was one of the era’s best shows. She has also hosted a number of related shows in the U.K. and elsewhere.

In episode after episode of “Supernanny,” Frost was as shocked as we were watching the one-hour’s first segments at home. Our first glimpses showed us typical American households where children ran amok and their parents were helpless.

These Dads and Moms volunteered to participate in her show because they were at their wits’ end. If memory serves, in the vast majority of these seemingly hopeless cases, the problem as diagnosed by Frost was that the parents were too lenient.

Very generally speaking, her prescription for these beleaguered parents was: Take charge, act like adults, talk to your children in a way that ensures they will obey, and generally take a more disciplined approach.

Jo “Supernanny” Frost then showed the parents how to do it. And by each episode’s end, the kids were as docile as Dobermans that had just been tamed by the Dog Whisperer (Cesar Milian).

In the new “Parent Test,” the stage seems to be set for discussions, and possibly heated debates, on much of these same parenting conflicts, and more.

“Based on a hit Australian television format, ‘The Parent Test’ will explore the many distinctively different parenting styles,” says ABC.

“From helicopter to child-led parents, 12 families are put under the microscope in the ultimate parenting stress test and will share learnings about emotional hot-button topics that compare the multiple styles of parenting.

“The families are put through various situations to foster conversations about how each unit operates,” says ABC’s description.

The show is co-hosted by Ali Wentworth and parenting expert Dr. Adolph Brown (both pictured above). 

“The Parent Test” premieres Thursday (December 15) at 10 p.m. Eastern on ABC.