Jo Frost comes across
as one tough cookie when she's laying down the law for
children - and their parents - on ABC's hit series "Supernanny."
Off camera, she literally lets her hair down from that British
bun.That's what she's
doing right now, strolling barefoot in the sand of a
Southern California beach with her hair let down.
"I want people to know the
other side of me," she said, during a break from her
busy schedule.
"At the moment, it's a relentless schedule," she says.
It's not just "Supernanny."
It's also the two shows on British TV - the original "Supernanny"
plus "Beyond the Naughty Step," which follows up on
families she has worked with.
And it's running an
in-depth Web site -
www.jofrost.com - and finishing up her third book.
"Jo Frost's Confident Baby Care" follows "Supernanny:
How to Get the Best From Your Children" and "Ask
Supernanny: What Every Parent Wants to Know." The new
book comes out in August in the United Kingdom and in
May in the United States.
Born Joanne and nicknamed
Jo-Jo, Frost laughs at the idea that she has become the
Martha Stewart of child care.
Born Joanne and nicknamed
Jo-Jo, Frost laughs at the idea that she has become the
Martha Stewart of child care. But no fewer than 30 or
so moms, dads, kids and grandparents stop her between
the beach and the hotel to get an autograph or ask a
question.
Some
yell hello from their balcony rooms, and she waves and
yells back. Others just stand in awed silence.
"That's the Supernanny,"
Julie Rouse tells grandsons Adam Reed, 5, and brother
Cole, 10.
When
not relaxing, this no-nonsense woman is known for
getting the job done. She has driven to the home of an
anxious parent at 2 in the morning and taken phone
calls from friends, celebrities and even determined
strangers.
"You'd
be surprised who gets your number when they want it,"
she says drily. But even that is OK. In some ways, her
work is her life.
"One thing the show has
done is get people talking, saying, 'I have a problem.
I need help.' And I love that."
There's no husband, no
boyfriend.
"I'm
never in a place long enough. We only spend two weeks
at a time."
She's
content, for now, to help other people with their
children.
"I
meditate in the mornings before work. I need the
stillness to be able to go in and do the work I do.
It's very intense."
Anyone who has seen the
show knows that. So, when is there
a precious break?
"I spend time with
family," she said, her voice trailing off as her mind
drifts 5,400 miles away. "It's never enough time. We
all want more time. I'm not grumbling. It is what it is
at the moment."
She's supremely happy on the days she spends near the
water, this time the Pacific Ocean.
Frost swears by it, by
water in general.
"I spent a lot of time in
Barbados as a kid," she says. "The sea for me is very
much a place of tranquility."
Those trips to
sun-drenched islands were vacations from often-dreary
London where she grew up with her mom, Joa, a
self-taught interior designer, her dad, Michael, an
electrician and brother Matthew, two years younger.
"I was raised with a lot
of love in my life," she says, a smile moving across
her face. "My parents say I was a child that was a
social butterfly, and I wouldn't say I'm any different
now. My dad says I would waddle along in my diaper and
make friends with everybody."
Her mother died when Frost
was 24.
"She was
a major influence in my life, an absolutely wonderful
woman," Frost says softly. "I definitely feel my
mother's spirit around me all the time."
And now that she spends
more time in the United States than in Britain, seeing
the rest of her family isn't easy.
"I've just missed my
cousin's wedding," she said. "I rang to congratulate
them, and my father left the phone on while they did
their speeches. I had some tears, but I know I'm meant
to be here."
In
June, she celebrated her 37th birthday by seeing - what
else? - "Mary Poppins" on Broadway.
"I met Mary and Bert. It
was magical," she said. Though her favorite food is
Mexican, that night she dined on beef medallions with
vegetables, and some champagne, at the famed Rainbow
Room.
Open and
demonstrative, Frost is friendly to a fault, ignoring
no one who calls her name or wants an autograph,
although she has had to draw the line.
"I was in an airport and a
woman came up to me as I was coming out of the cubicle
and I said, 'Could I just get out of the restroom?'"
But sign she did.
Frost appreciates those
who recognize her, especially those who say they are
employing methods with their children. That means more
to Frost than being recognized. But there are others
who make her shake her head.
"I'll run into someone who
will say, 'You know, I tried your technique - and it
worked!' I find that bizarre. I would never give you a
technique that doesn't work. Of course it worked. These
aren't like tips on how to grow your gladiolus in the
garden.
"This
isn't just a job. You're dealing with human beings, not
paperwork stacked up on a table."
She pauses in
bewilderment.
"It's very interesting to watch how Americans respond
to the show," she says. "They're skeptical about me,
but they see the results. Then they say, 'Let me give
it a go' and it works. That's the whole point of doing
what I do."
She's
equally amused by those who "watch the telly and say,
'Thank God my kids aren't like that.' They're the ones
who will come over to the house after I leave and ask
what the chart is for and all sorts of other
questions."
She
notes it's not just the people who choose to be on "Supernanny"
who need help, and she defends those who do open the
doors to their chaotic households and out-of-control
children.
"They
have helped 8 to 10 million other parents with their
courage."
As she
starts the fourth season of her ABC show - and 20th
year as a nanny - she's finally feeling comfortable in
this country ("It's massive. It's just amazing how big
America is") and with American families.
"I'm very direct, and
people receive that as abrupt," she acknowledges. "Some
realize it's passion, passion for what I do.
"I'm headstrong. And
absolute. I look at every angle, then make my decisions
and never change them," she says when asked to describe
herself.
She adds
"independent" and "strong-minded" but admits to being
"a girly-girl" who likes scented candles, who just
bought pink luggage.
"I'm a very sensitive
woman, most definitely a woman who's a good and loving
daughter and a good big sis. I'm a woman of integrity."
A woman on a mission.
"I will continue to do
this - helping parents - whether the television show is
on or not."Visit Copley News Service at
www.copleynews.com.
