I happened to catch this show last week while channel surfing on CMT. Each week a new host family takes in some troubled teen houseguests and show them what hard work and responsibility is all about.

The ep I caught looks like the pilot; the Vinton family take in Ivan & Brittani for a week. Apparently, these two teen twits never heard of waking up before the crack of noon (7:30 am and they're all , "I gotta get up early?") or that if they lie about doing certain assigned chores, they figure no one would actually check on them.

Is it a coincidence that troubled teens are always heavy smokers? With the current price of smokes these days I wonder where they get the money!

Ivan was a real piece of work! When asked to give up the lighter, he had the audacity to threaten to use it to start a fire in the house !! Then pouts like a child when he's confined to a time out on the couch ("I got my principals!") until he gave in. His poor mom is in way over her head! I wonder if he really will settle down after his experience with the Vintons.


The next ep is Saturday the 25th with the Hatcher family:




This one should be interesting.

I caught the show. I watched it with my 12 year old daughter and 14 year old son. None of us thought the Vintons were "the world's strictest parents." I thought their rules, for the most part, were reasonable. The only rule we thought was over the top was the 9:00 bed time for teens. The chores the kids were given were typical, and nothing too time consuming or difficult. Since they weren't going to school, they had lots of time to get the few chores done as well.

I was wondering if the surprise about the 7:30 wake up time was because the kids were not going to school, so they figured they could sleep in. My kids sleep in when they don't have school or other activities.

The Vintons seemed like nice people, and they both had great communication skills for dealing with teens. I was surprised that Ivan gave up his lighter, and I'm wondering what kind of magic voodoo (producer manipulation?) made him give it up so (relatively) quickly. I'm looking forward to the next episode.

I think they're considered strict because a generation of families have forgotten what rules are. Obviously Brittani's & Ivan's families don't have any - or can't enforce them. Neither didn't even have a father in the home - at a time when a father's presence is sorely needed.





I think it's reasonable - only because teens nowadays seems to be going to bed so late, they fall asleep in class.

I just stumbled upon this show last Saturday. I saw the episode with Reed and Jessica. Reed needed a haircut. Hair was in his eyes without all that product to hold it up. Jessica was very pretty without all the makeup.

I liked that the moms came to pick up the kids at the end. I thought Jessica really enjoyed and craves the family time. She made a note of that to her mom. How the Hatcher's have family time and eat dinner together. She really wants that from her Mom. I guess she doesn't get that because of Mom's work schedule? And instead bonds with her friends which is apparantly not such a good influence.

It would be nice to see a follow up after the kids are actually home to hear if there really is new respect for the parents.

I have the other episode ready to DVR. Can't wait to see it, too.

I would also like to see what happened once they got home--wonder if they lapsed back into old habits. Reed and Jessica both seemed to adapt well to the structure and rules...it was sweet how he dropped the 'fabulous gay boy' stuff and she stopped being such a 'tough chick'...The Hatchers are tough for sure, but were very sweet and loving people, and you could tell by how normal and well-adjusted their kids seem to be that they must be doing something right.

I will say that the teens taking the truck kind of smacked of interference by the producers...I bet they egged them on.

I don't know if the producers egged them on or not about taking the truck, but you can be sure that they did not feel it was such a big deal. I got the impression that Reed was used to saying, "Aw, shucks Mom, I'm sorry." And all wrong doings were forgiven. He was surprised that Mrs. Hatcher made him stay in his "room," too. Neither one of them had to suffer consequences for bad behavior.

Having to scoop the poop was the Hatcher's version of SuperNanny's Naughty Spot. See, it works for teenagers, too.

I liked the episode with the Hatcher family more than the first one. It didn't seem like the teens with the Vintons did much compared to working on the dairy farm with the Hatchers. Something is bugging me though. Both families had kids of their own and I expected to see them interacting with the visiting teens and attempting to help them fit into the family. Instead it seems to focus on the visiting teens and parents while excluding the others.

I'm caught up on all of the episodes and I'm struck that these parents aren't really that stict -- it's just that they parent. Heaven spare me from all those parents who are "best friends" with their kids. They have friends, they need parents.

(PS Hey you kids, get off my lawn!!)

What is surprising to me about this show is that I've seen two episodes where either alcohol and/or drugs are used by the visiting teens. In one episode (McCuin family-episode 3), the teenaged boy hides a pint of liquor in an instrument case and then sneaks it out when the visiting kids go out bowling with the families kids. At the bowling alley he uses his fake ID to by a beer and drinks it, then pulls out the liquor. The other kids talk him out of drinking it and he throws it away, but still he did drink the beer, was in possession of liquior and is underaged. The kids 'fessed up at home about the liquor and throwing it away. (can't remember if the beer was mentioned).

In Ep. 4: Helton Family, the male visiting teen hides pot and is shown holding and apple (make shift) and blowing smoke while the family is away at church. He then throws the apple in the pond. When the family throws a party he gets the baggy from the garage and tries to sneak away and smoke. The mom sees him and calls him back where he loses the opportunity, but as far as I know the pot is never found. What is the responsibility of the producers here? Are the host families made aware and "play along" for the sake of "wild teen escapades caught on camera?" Do the host families not know and only find out when watching the final product? Isn't this aiding and abetting a crime? I've seen lawbreaking (people driving under the influence, etc) on other reality shows, but these involved the actions of adults.

As for the strictness of the host families .... those that have chores that kids would detest seem to have more sway. Like others on the thread have stated I would LOVE to see what happens when the teens return home.

I only saw the Brittani/Ivan episode. Nothing too shocking about the "strictness" of the family, I mean, the kids are minors, the parents won't allow them to smoke or have lighters and they are expected to do chores...

I was almost upset about the mom making Brittani take out her piercings, then I remembered that Brittani is a teenager and will be able to do whatever she wants regarding piercings when she's an adult. I certainly wasn't allowed any facial piercings as a kid (don't have any now, either).


Yeah, I often wonder that about shows like this.

Personally, I FF through the introduction of the teens. I find the host families far more interesting!

YES! It's very inspiring, too. Especially with all the reality tv depicting teens as self centered idiots. It's nice to see that there are good parents raising responsible and thoughtful children.

I liked the episode with Sebastian and Julie. Helping out the teenage mother with 2+ kids was an eye opener for Julie. I found it surprising that Sebastian just jumped right in to help w/o much prodding by the surrogate Mom. His parents obviously raised him right - he knew what needed to be done to clean the kitchen. He just didn't have any consequences to not doing the same at home.

Amazing how one can learn to control the swearing when the consequences are cleaning the toilet. Loved that one. Got a potty mouth? Then go clean the toilet. That chore was fitting for Julie.

Sebastian's parents should get him involved in community service. He really seemed to respond to helping that teenage mom.

I just saw the one with Sebastian and Julie. I was pretty impressed with how much Julie, especially, turned around in a week. I get the feeling that Sebastian is more a case of a kid who isn't what his parents want him to be (social and outgoing) vs a "bad kid"-he seemed to pitch in and know what to do, and just needed to be needed and have a role.

Good show. I don't usually watch CMT, but I'll have to look for this one.

The father in this episode was very disturbing. I assume they screen the kids pretty carefully, because his actions towards the girl were potentially very problematic/triggering for someone who's suffered physical or sexual violence. I found his intensity really off-putting, as well as the degree of physical contact with his daughter. I think late teens are a little old to sit together in an easy chair with a parent, or hold hands. It just... gave me the creeps.

I'm also put off by the faith aspect. It's like a bad "culture war" cliche. Ship the godless heathens off to the reeducation camps. It's never that simple. I was raised in a very religious home, and have an substance-abusing sibling who was a complete PITA. Conversely, I know plenty of people raised without faith who were easy, happy teens. It bugs.

RE: Garrett - So those really large ear piercing/hole enlarger thingies smell bad when taken out because the flesh is rotting?! EWWWW! At least a regular piercing can be removed. What do you do 10 years from now when you don't want your ears stretched down to your chin?

You're pretty much screwed once you've stretched the ears. They aren't going to resume their old shape.

I suppose plastic surgery could help in this case - but it's another classic case of "rebellious teen disfigures self for fashion then has to face real world" where that look won't work. I also blame the parents for this (as I recall both Mom and her bf had piercings too).

I was impressed that Garrett at least got a chance to talk to someone in the tattoo/piercing biz and he seemed to get a wake up call. I'm shocked that a kid who has the opportunity to go to college on the state's dime would turn it down - especially since he could still learn a thing or two without getting into debt. Personally I think he's still got a long way to go - remember all those glue sticks the parents took off him?

I caught the last ep with the Rutherfords. I liked them alot and I was surprised that teen hellion Brian didn't stay the full week! Just got up and left! That I think is a WSP first! Good luck when you have disagreements with your future bosses Brian! You won't be able to pick up and leave the office so easily! Desiree was a bit better - but only because both Rutherfords fought hard to get her to see things from an adult perspective for once. I thought it was funny how she thought she was so good as covering her tracks when the Rutherfords caughter her with a lighter - and she kept insisting she wasn't going to smoke during her stay - and she kept insisting how the lighter was really for her sister back home! Pathetic!




It may have helped Julie but the teen mom didn't seem to learn much. One teen pregnancy [without a husband] wasn't enough - she had to get knocked up 2 more times and allow them to live in filth! I wonder if CPS took note of the ep? It's not likely the the last clean up job the kids made was going to take and the woman had no problem living in a pig sty.

I've had a lot of friends in the past stretch their ears out and as long as you use common sense and do it gradually when you decide to "retire" them they close pretty close to where you began. That said a lot of people just want to get to x gauge as quick as possible and end up with the "catbutt" looking piercings. The funk is actually just dead skin that collected around the jewelry and is no different from the dead skin you slough off anywhere else :)

That all said-I get nothing but creepy purity (I accidentally typed puritan first haha) ball vibes from the dads in this show. And the "reeducation camp" comment seems spot on. This show is like a bad marriage between the purity ball documentary and that wilderness boot camp show that was on a few years ago. When I talk to Mr. Kittenista we think that the families that say they're going to take the kids in must have a ton of chores or repairs to do on the farm and figure this is a way to get paid and get them done!

I don't think that's necessarily the case. Chore are chores and they have to get done. All the "strict families" had kids of their own and I don't doubt they participate in their own assigned roles. In families I knew (including my own) at some point you were old enough to do them and it was your responsibility to mind them. Chores also keep idle hands busy while teaching responsibility and respect for one's home/workspace. These kids, from what I've seen have never had to lift a finger their entire lives, never had much if any serious consequences for their actions and their parents seem to have no clue how to give them structure. It was posted earlier that earlier generations of families acted pretty much like the "strict parents" we see on this show; but they're really no so much strict as they are loving, coordinated and firm. Today kids are allowed to rule the roost and we have seen the results of taking that path.

I wish they'd show the other kids in the family (and the parents, for that matter) participating more in the chores and daily life. I know they're focusing on the teens, but it does give an aura of "take in these kids and work them to death for the week, in the hopes of turning them around."

Can you get high off of GLUE STICKS?? I had no idea. Seems like glue sticks are so safe you can basically eat them in an emergency and they'd sustain life. Didn't know they had entertainment value as well.

I've watched this show here and there hoping for some major drama but haven't seen much yet. I just look at these kids and wonder what they were like when they were, say 2, and what went wrong. It's good for parents of young kids to watch so they don't F up like these parents. Hopefully I won't, and my kid will reflect that. And hopefully I won't be one of the unlucky ones who does everything right but gets an asshole teenager.

I was wondering that, too. Those are the same type of glue sticks that my 4 yr old uses-they even looked like the purple changes to white washable kind. I thought the sort of glue that made kids high was more like the model airplane cement or epoxy glues where there are solvents.

Having said that, I know there have been cases in schools here of kids putting drugs into innocent looking containers, and maybe that's what they were thinking with all the gluesticks. Since Andrea and husband run a teen club, I expect they've seen every way teens try to smuggle drugs/alcohol known to man, and have much more highly tuned "radar" for such things than I have, and I admit that I'd be suspicious about any teenager, especially one looking like Garrett who was coming to you because he was having behavioral problems at home, who had something that rang "wrong"-and that many glue sticks certainly rang "wrong" to me.



I've noticed a few things-the first is that these seem to be mostly only children, or possibly children with much older siblings (which both gives the parent time to focus on one child and to do more for that child, and just plain means that the child doesn't have anyone competing for the parent's attention) and that the parents seem to treat their child more like a peer, or like their child is in charge. And a lot of the parents are talking about how smart, or how pretty, or how wonderful their child is, except that he/she isn't nice, or responsible, or whatever. I'm guessing that's gone on their entire life, and that the parents are still caring for the child about the same way they did at age 5 or so. I imagine that Kaleigha, on Toddlers & Tiaras, will probably be a lot like one of these teens when she gets there. A child who learns at 3-4 that they can wind adults around their little finger by being precociously cute and verbal often is set up for trouble all the way through school unless mommy and daddy get professional help (Nanny Deb, anyone?)

I admit that seeing this show makes me a lot more likely to insist that my 4 yr old clears the table or puts her toys away!

Not to take up for the teenagers or anything but I would like to point out that sometimes I think these strict parents lucked out in the kids department. I mean I believe that the relaxed parents definitely contributed a lot to the teens behavior but I also think there are some kids that just don't have it in them to rebel in the way that the rebellious teens do. I think possibly the strict parents' own kids wouldn't have done these things maybe because it wasn't in their nature. Most of these strict parents were flabbergasted and said things like I have never heard of someone talking to their parents that way or I have never heard of a teen doing that blah blah. The whole time I am going REALLY?? Really your teen has never expressed any angst at all??

I was a rebellious teen with EXTREMELY strict parents and it just made me better at hiding it and doing things behind their back. That is why those teens don't know how to function in the strict households. They don't have to hide anything at home. The parents all seem to know everything that they are doing and just let them. If I had come home with gauges in my ears my parents woudl have ripped them out of my head. Hell my husband is extremely tattooed and had a ton of piercings and still would rip them out of our sons' heads of they tried that at our house. The teens just don't know how to be sneaky around vigilance so they just give up realizing they just have to get through a week and they can be back with their permissive parents.

I don't remember what episode it was but the one where the kid wouldn't give up the lighter seemed weird to me because if it was me at that age. I would have sat on that couch all night if need be. I did it before when I was a teenager in an act of defiance. Not that I encourage this behavior but these teens seemed more self indulgent than down right rebellious.

All the lame teen smoking needs to stop too. It is like they figure that is their "cool" badge. Am I really that old or what because I don't remember me equating smoking as being cool and didn't even start until I went to college and realized it helped when you were pulling an all nighter.

I watched the season finale earlier this afternoon and the strict parents live in Arkansas. Not only that they also use the word defrauding. Know who else uses that word? The Duggars and they too live in Arkansas. So my question is is that word normally used in Arkansas or is it just the religous people who use it?

I bet they're Duggar fans since they believe the same things those people do except they're Baptists and the Duggars aren't.

JMO but I swear everytime I see the Helton episode the strict dad has the look of a murderer. Not sure if it's because of his bald head and the way his face looks but I swear that's how he looks to me.

I like the show but it clearly has an agenda. Permissive parents = bad parents with rebellious teens who smirk, smoke, and are into drugs/drinking (although none of the kids profiled really come off like seriously impaired by drug habit kids) and strict parents with religion = good parents with great kids who never rebel.

I think it depends on where you grow up. When I was in high school (just two years ago) smoking wasn't cool- the only girls who smoked were the ones who wanted to lose weight, the guys who did it were the lame types who needed it to cultivate a bad boy image (the ACTUAL bad boys didn't always smoke). On the other hand, in the poorer suburbs of my city, a majority of teens smoke by the time they're 16.

rissatx- huge word that with strict parents, kids just manage to hide what they do well, especially by the time they're teens. At 19, the heaviest drinkers that I know come from families where parents are either overly strict OR overly lenient about alcohol consumption. I guess the most effective way to parent is to strike a balance between the two-- make it clear what your boundaries are, but also be willing to talk to your kids about things without flying off the handle/judging them.

ETA: FlockRapid: ITA about the agenda, especially about the religious thing. Plenty of families aren't religious and their kids turn out great. Sigh.

I know it's staged and has an agenda, but I just see the kids in question as, for the most part, not raging out of control kids with *serious* problems that their parents can't handle.

Look at Garrett. Oh wow, he's got piercing and does well enough in school for a full scholarship. Thats *trouble*. No, it's not. It's a confused kid who really needed a reality check and a sit down with his mom to go over what's important. I've only seen one kid (Ricky?) who seemed to have a real issue with substance abuse, he was hiding booze and couldn't seem to go very long without a drink. And he proved a really valid point - the "strict" parents really aren't capable of stopping the behavior. This kid drank in their home, got a beer in a public bowling alley with a fake id and the kids of the strict parents didn't even *try* to stop the kid.

I agree Enigma13. The way to get away with stuff with strict parents is to be an Eddie Haskell type. Be all sweet and innocent when you are around the parents then figure out a way to hide your deviant behavior. I was 17 before my parents ever realized I was doing stuff behind their back.

This whole idea of rebel to everyone isn't really the way to work hyper vigilant parents so no way was the behavior going to get them their way.

Whereas I can see this style working on overly permissive parents especially ones that want to be their kids' friend.

I admit it-I watched about 5 episodes back to back yesterday.

I have to wonder how much of the "turnaround" is staged. I have trouble believing any teenager would really get to the point of self-evaluation in 5 days, or to the point of missing mommy and daddy, either. I did my first sleep-away summer camp in, oh, 4th grade maybe? A lot of these teens are high school seniors and are already 18. A lot of kids are in COLLEGE by that time, living away from home, in the dorms, and doing just fine.

Desiree, for example-I have to wonder if she really calmed down and decided to get with the program, or if she realized "Hey, Brian's leaving-that means I get ALL the camera time to myself".

And I do agree that the personality of the child makes a big difference. I've taught long enough to have multiple kids from the same household, and to see one who even as a preschooler will do whatever you tell him NOT to do and another who's completely compliant and who cries at the thought of doing ANYTHING wrong.

I watched part of an episode yesterday. Not sure who it was, a pretty girl with a lip piercing and the foster father looked like a big mean bulldog. What really, really bothered me was that he was yelling at her about how she was going to toe the line and if she didn't, he was going to do all of this stuff to force her to toe the line. One of the things he told her was that if she did not behave he was going to "take away her individuality", including taking away her clothes and forcing her to wear things from his closet.

Okay, am I the only one that this really, really bothered? "You will behave and if you don't I will take your personality away." Also there was something really creepy and inappropriate about the whole "I will force you to wear clothes from my closet." Like it was so important for her to behave in a way he found acceptable that he was literally going to force her to become someone else.

Um, no. I understand these kids need structure but that particular touch bugged me a LOT.

The parents from this past Saturday's episode lucked out. Neither Tyler or Arielle were drinkers, smokers or user of [excessive] foul language. Tyler was just lazy and Arielle was just a typical pushing-the-parental-boundaries teenager.

I wasn't sure I wanted to continue watching when I watched the foster parent interview. I am not religious and find some of the zealot religious type vary hard to take. I was lumping this family into that bin when I saw their "camp." That said, I liked the dad's talk with Tyler. He didn't put God into every conversation. Just tried to talk common sense to the boy.

The disturbing part [yet highly amusing to me] was the dad's comments to the camera about the skirt and tights that Arielle was wearing when she arrived. If these articles of clothing were unsuitable, then why wasn't she asked to changed after the House Rules were discussed? It looked like she was helping to cook dinner in the same short skirt and black tights.

The funny part to me was the Dad spouting off about impure thoughts such attire can create and the camera cuts to the family's son sitting down the couch and pulling a pillow over his lap. LOL! Poor boy probably hasn't ever seen a girl's legs before - including his sister's. And if he can not close his bedroom door except to change, I suppose he takes long showers?

I did feel bad for Arielle, who is Jewish, was made to go to church. But then I thought that you have to know that is a possibility when signing up for this show. Heck, anything is doable for a week.

I was expecting the parents to be a lot more "out there" on Saturday's episode than they were, given the family camp and the attire. They actually seemed more reasonable than some of the other parents.

I do think that both the kids were just regular, normal teens who needed a little direction and thinking time-and, in the case of Tyler, someone to turn over the kitchen to him and tell him he did a good job.

I was happy to see that he really could cook and his sandwich shoppe wasn't just a pipe dream.

I watched bits and pieces of the reruns yesterday, and was really bothered by the obvious religious agenda. Not being religious does not automatically being bad, just as being religious does not automatically equal being good.

Growing up, I had one parent who was the 'best friend' type, and later relied upon me, turning me into the parent and her into the child, and the other one was abusive, so the whole 'normal, strict parent' thing was weird to see, and while I wouldn't have been happy with it either, I admit that the rules were there for a reason, but even so, some of the rules seemed a bit much. Like the mother that read her daughter's texts messages and stuff. Or the family in which the teen's room were viewable to everyone at all times. Since when is privacy a bad thing? Surely having some semblance of privacy is a good thing?

I also disagreed with the family that made the teens go to church, especially since one of them was Jewish. They also tried to tell them that dating is bad, which was extremely silly, in my opinion. More parenting and less bible thumping, please.

Hmm...I guess I could see why people think that the show has a religious agenda, but what I got from the show was that you have to provide kids with structure and clear boundaries and if you threaten them with consequences, you have to follow through, otherwise your kids won't take you seriously at all. Letting kids do whatever they want without consequences will not end well regardless of whether you are religious.

Parents must find a way to instill morals and discipline in their kids. Many parents commonly accomplish this through religion, while other parents use other methods. Whatever method parents choose, they must provide kids with rules and reasons why it's important to follow those rules. Telling a rebellious teen not to do something because you say so, is not a good reason. You have to tell them what thought process you went through to come to that decision. That way the teens don't think you are saying no to them just to be mean or a jerk. Giving them solid reasons will help them see that you have their best interests at heart and really don't intend to stop them from having fun.

Also, I can understand the teens missing their parents even though they're gone for only a week. Many parents can't afford to send their kids to camp or choose not to for other reasons, so many kids don't have that experience of being away from home. I remember in college, many students who were 18, were very homesick and cried a lot. Even the guys couldn't hold in their homesickness anymore and cried in front of others. Some kids really do find it hard. It just depends on their attachment to their family and their past experiences with being on their own.

I'd love to be on this show, but I don't think we're strict or religious enough. LOL We have chores and rules, but we also have fun!
Taking in a teen who floats on their badassness would be a great challenge for this military couple.
I was the queen of sneaking around with strict parents. I know every trick in the book (ask my 19 y.o.).

Oh and we don't live on a farm.

Season 1 is available on Fancast.

I haven't seen any of the season 2 eps yet.