by neile mcgrew

Created on: February 04, 2007   Last Updated: May 09, 2007

For anyone who has watched ABC's answer to corrective behavioral psychology, Supernanny, we know that it takes about a week to change a brood of bad-word spewing, battering brats into perfect little angels that any mother could love. However, what happens when the Supernanny fails? For a family living in the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan, the Supernanny debacle could mean that they are losing their home.

The Trillium Park Homeowners Association are demanding that the family of Michael and Tamara Amouri comply with regulations in the condo they rent from another individual, or move out. The lawsuit has been filed in Oakland County, Michigan, and sites the children's "excessive noise" at all hours as the main complaint. ABC is not commenting, saying that due to the litigation they are prohibited from making statements about their Supernanny, Jo Frost.

Now the question arises: If Supernanny cannot help American families control their disruptive and ill-behaved offspring, who can? Nanny 911, perhaps. If the constant presence of film crews and an overweight British woman demanding "time outs" are ineffective in America's fight to correct the spoiled children of the US, what can we as Americans do?

Tamara Amouri, when asked to comment on the lawsuit, claimed that she was unaware of any such litigation. Hmm, perhaps the real problem is that the mother of the family is equally unaware that the Supernanny failed her so. Maybe the children were so completely wretched before Supernanny's arrival, and that now that they are marginally better, thanks to Supernanny, Tamara just doesn't think that her children are bad enough to get the family evicted from the rented condo. And if she doesn't recognize the problem, who else can come to her aid?

Maybe ABC should step in and give the Amouri's another try. Maybe a full two weeks of filming, I mean therapy, I mean nanny-ing is what this unfortunate family needs. I would hate to see the venerable Supernanny and its cross-network rival Nanny 911 take the blame for this. They both do good work for families across the country, and Reality TV should not bear the blame for the failure of one family to learn the appropriate lessons from the oral-hygienically challenged Ms. Frost and her ilk. Every family has its own learning curve, and perhaps the Amouri's just need a little more time.

I would not want to live in a world where reality television shows that help us lose weight, talk to our dogs, win apprenticeships with Donald Trump, or correct our spoiled, bratty kids are considered failures. Supernanny, give the Amouri Family another week.

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