Supernanny is back for a fourth season on ABC. As always, British nanny Jo Frost finds families in need of guidance to deal with unruly children and helps stabilize the core values of the family unit. Even though the families’ situations are sometimes uncomfortable to watch at first (with children yelling, hitting and being disrespectful), Jo always finds a way to help the parents cope with their problems, and the children to function more effectively. The season premiere, which aired Wednesday, January 2nd, is our Best of the Week.

In this episode, Jo helps the Drake family. The parents are well-meaning but overprotective. They don’t let their children, a four-year-old girl and twin three-year-old boys, wander more than a couple of feet from them at any time, not even on their own property. They forcibly brush their children’s teeth and, despite purchasing a new camper, are afraid to use it for fear of the lack of control they would have of their children away from home. Jo helps the Drakes rectify their tendency to overprotect and, through sensible techniques, the parents learn to teach their kids about safety, set appropriate boundaries when the children run around, and enforce appropriate discipline when their children act up. By the time Jo leaves, the Drakes are much happier and are thankful for everything they learned from her.

Even with Jo’s counsel, parents aren’t always successful in implementing new techniques immediately (although they are seen getting better by episode’s end). But despite their setbacks, Supernanny continues to prove the power of positive parenting techniques; and Jo is always the biggest of help in any situation. For continuing to provide and optimistic and positive view of family life, Supernanny is a well-deserved Best of the Week.