ANNOUNCER: Over six huge nights...
Welcome to the 'Avengers of Parenting'.
(LAUGHTER)
..12 sets of parents put their parenting under the microscope.
Parents all over Australia are gonna benefit from your parental guidance.
Go!
Lightsabre!
They answered curly questions.
Where did the babies come from? They come from the belly.
Are you blocking your ears right now?
..and tackled the biggest issues facing families today.
She just revealed her street address. Oh!
This little girl who just wants to play a game.
I have a delivery for your mum. Do you mind if I just put it inside?
It's really heavy. Um...
That frightens me to death P
in a real-life situation, you're gone already.
That guy has snatched you.
This next challenge might be really triggering.
Isn't she a stupid baby?
Bullying escalates very quickly from verbal to physical.
A lot of young boys die from being king hit in the face.
If you run away, good chance you're gonna get king hit.
Voted into the final...
Go, finalists!
..were four very different parenting styles.
I'm very brutally honest.
There is nothing off-limits.
You've got a massive mouth, mate.
Our parenting style is lighthouse.
We guide our children from afar.
That means that they have to be
confident, resilient,
that's what we want for them.
With American parenting,
we tend to set the bar high.
And we give our child lots of support
to help her feel like she can achieve these things.
Winner! That was really good.
We have six children,
and we're trying to raise them
like our little own footy team.
And our team parenting motto is 'one in...
BOTH: 'All in'.
Go, mama, go! We need to go to the video ref.
Who's ready to go on a family adventure?
Me!
Our four finalists will be put to the ultimate parenting test...
Let's finish this. Bring it!
..deep in the Aussie bush.
(SCREAMS AND LAUGHS)
Oh, my God. It could be poo and it could be mud P who knows?
Outside their comfort zone... Oh-ho! No!
Just wait!
(SCREAMS) Stop, stop. Everybody, stop.
..they'll be pushed...
Out of the way, child!
(SCREAMS) Stop. Stop!
..right to the very edge. Oh, I can't do it.
Are you gonna tell me 'no' on a footy field?
I don't want to do this! (CRIES)
(SCREAMS) She was terrified.
No child should be responsible for a parent's disappointment.
And finally, our panel decides
who has Australia's best parenting style.
The best parenting style is...
It's nice to see you all.
And you.
Doesn't everybody look fantastic?
They obviously didn't do the extreme family mission.
(LAUGHS)
Welcome to the Holy Grail of parenting.
Where your chosen ones will scale the parenting heights
to find out who will be knighted parenting champions.
Please welcome back your finalists.
(APPLAUSE)
Kat, our honest parent.
Mark and Leanne, our team parents.
Kim and Nick, our American parents.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
And Sammy and Jason, our lighthouse parents.
(APPLAUSE CONTINUES)
Welcome back.
I'd like to hear how you're all feeling.
Very honoured.
Just to have gone through this experience to begin with.
Very honoured.
I'm humbled and in a bit of disbelief that I'm sitting here.
I'm so happy to be here. Of course I am.
But I also, like, wanna thank everybody there for putting us here.
(APPLAUSE) Kim and Nick?
For me, I'm just super excited to see what we're gonna see today.
So are we. (CHUCKLES)
Tonight is parenting's night of nights
where we see how our final families
faced their extreme family mission.
So you can decide what once and for all whose parenting style is best.
This final challenge takes you deep
into the valley of parenting torture.
In the extreme family mission,
we want to see how our final parents can give up control,
communicate with their kids and connect as a family.
These are four completely different parenting styles,
and this will reveal all their strengths and weaknesses.
Panel parents, take notes, because at the end of the night,
you will be voting for the parenting style
that you think works best.
Ask yourselves, "Are the kids thriving?
"Are the parents surviving?"
And most importantly of all, "Is the family unit unbreakable?"
I'm sorry in advance for what you're about to see.
I think they might run out of paper.
(LAUGHTER)
Every parenting style here has shown its merits.
Everyone springing up great children.
It is hard to pick a favourite.
For us, what's really important
is that they are addressing the kids emotional needs.
And who's doing that best.
Are you ready to see who is parent gold?
Sometimes just getting there is half the fun.
Here we go, guys. Are you keen? Yes.
Are you excited? Yes.
Is anyone nervous? No.
With being an honest parent, I think it's extremely important
to know your children what you believe that they're capable of.
So pep talks are the way to go.
I think at the end of the day,
we just do every single thing that we can possibly do,
find each other's strengths, and utilise those strengths. OK?
Okey-dokey. We are gonna conquer this.
This is something that excites us,
that doesn't really daunt us as a unit.
So how beautiful is this road? Oh, my God.
Slow it down, dude. It's only 20.
So extreme family... Mission.
Mission. Rule number one - no whingeing.
No matter if it looks scary, if it's dangerous,
try to think about the best way around it or how to get through it.
As American parents, we set the bar quite high
and then we expect our child to achieve.
We are her personal cheerleader,
we like to cheer her on and make her feel like she is confident
and she can do it and support her.
One note to you guys, I know you don't have this under control,
but please don't die.
(LAUGHS) Don't worry about that.
Let's finish this. Bring it!
And they're rally car driving.
Beetson's coming around the corner. Easy ridin', baby.
Anything that's presented to us, challenges,
as team parents, we don't shy away from it
because we don't want our kids to not take anything on in life.
So we ask them to step up as well.
I'm so excited to be doing this together.
Are you?
Well, I've wanted to do this for so long,
and we're doing it together as a family.
We don't even know what we're doing!
Whatever today throws at us,
we will get through as a team
'cause that's how we roll.
Wow. This hill's so steep. Slow down, slow down.
Extremely steep.
Slow down? Were going, like, 5km/h.
Rickety, rickety, rickety, rickety.
SAMMY: So who's ready to go on a family adventure?
Me! Me.
We knew today was gonna be outside of our comfort zone.
Lots of mods, guys. So much mud.
We are from the Gold Coast,
so we don't really experience a lot of mud and leeches.
Are we gonna be smart and kind and brave and strong?
Yep.
Great.
Our process of the extreme family mission
is just to encourage the kids to have a go.
We never expect them to be the best at everything.
Here we are.
As Lighthouse parents, our role today is
finding the balance between letting our children go and to support them.
A red box. How very interesting.
Your family mantra was there P smart, kind, brave, strong.
Yep.
They are not allowed to ever forget it and I love that.
I love Kat's pep-talk that you get to the kids.
Even I felt geed up going "Aww, this is gonna be awesome!"
Oh, thanks.
Kim and Nick, I love the 'no whingeing'.
Yeah.
Were you expecting her to whinge?
Actually, it was probably more... (LAUGHTER)
Team parents, I love how you guys interact,
it's such a beautiful connection that you guys have.
And I loved how messy your car was and you didn't care.
Oh, you got no idea.
Most of the time as parents, we feel a little lost in the woods.
So to see how you get your family on track,
we set up and orienteering course.
How hard could it be?
Orienteering is a staple of every school camp.
This will be a real test of how these parents
can give up control and involve their kids.
This is gonna show the difference
between parents to focus on getting that task done
and those who prioritise inclusion.
There is the red box. Let's see.
VOICEOVER: Armed with an old-fashioned map and compass,
we want to see if our finalists can let their kids can take control.
Searching for clues
that will take them to the next stage of their mission.
We are along the water.
Should we read this first?
"At the wreck where no ships should sail
"collect something you need to tie up loose ends.
"Head northeast that 278 degrees for nearly 300m."
I was actually gonna use the sun.
Mark always says, you know, "I go off the sun, I can get us anywhere,
"I know what time it is. I don't need a watch."
Can I give you a tip? That's northeast.
I'm pretty sure we go this way.
Let's walk this way.
That says northeast!
Look at the calculator!
Matthew got that compass
and he was like "Yep. That's where we're heading."
Mum, I'm right! No, we're heading that way.
It's this way. We're heading over that way.
I made a coach's call to override him.
Uh-uh.
(LAUGHS)
It's that way, isn't it? Is it the way I said at the start?
Inadvertently, that coach's call was wrong.
He will be shattered. He won't be the same.
His ego is ruined for the day. (LAUGHS)
I swallowed my pride and I followed in the end.
OK, so there should be a rope around this area.
I found it.
Thanks, guys.
Good work, Mama.
OK. (READS) "Ahoy there, me hearties.
"Collect something you need when the tide is against you.
"Head west at 285 degrees for nearly 100m.
How many metres? 200.
100. 100.
We were so excited, so we decided to run to the next clue.
(LAUGHTER) Wow!
Give me the jacket and the water bottles, Lee.
Lee!
I can't even watch.
I've got an idea. I can't get up! No! No!
(UPROARIOUS LAUGHTER)
Hold my hand! (GIGGLES)
Alright.
With team parenting, no team member gets left behind.
I'm here! OK, we got there.
We made it to the end successfully.
I hope I fell graciously.
We struggled at first but we came home strong.
That's what winning's all about, honey.
You don't win grand finals in March. (LAUGHS) So true.
So true.
"Head northeast at 278 degrees for nearly 300m."
OK. How do we work that out?
I hate orienteering.
I don't like orienteering because I don't see the point.
If you want something, just get it.
Why am I stopping at three different points to get there?
Pepper, would you like to be the compass person?
I want to be the... Awwww. You can be the map guy.
Our approach to orienteering as lighthouse parents
was to let our kids lead the way
and we would stand back and let them gain some control.
(COUNTS RAPIDLY)
She's off! We've got a girl on a mission.
But it also helped us because we had no idea what we were doing,
and we were hoping that they would.
320!
320? I reckon would be around here somewhere.
Nope, just a creek.
I think we've gone the wrong way.
I hate orienteering. I've never liked orienteering.
Unless you're Bear Grylls, what does it matter?
So we decided to ditch the compass,
it wasn't giving us any joy or direction.
And, Pepper, that map, let's use that instead, hey?
Got it.
And that seemed to work.
I think that that's part of a ship.
Oh!
And it says 'where no ship should sail'.
There's another clue! Another clue, dude! Good job.
The lesson here is, guys, is that compasses are pointless.
(LAUGHS)
The kids really got a buzz from finding each clue.
We found something! It's a paddle!
Ahoy, me hearties. Ahoy, me hearties!
Head north for nearly 100m. Where's north?
Just one moment.
(CHUCKLES)
We eventually found a direction,
we just did it in a bit of a roundabout way.
Daddy, if you're wrong about north...
If I'm wrong about north, we are definitely up Shit Creek P
but we've got the paddle, though.
(LAUGHTER)
DEEPAK: You are literally a lighthouse.
Hats off to what you guys did.
You let go of control and you wanted them to do everything
so I would probably try to have control but you showed us
that the main thing wasn't the end result, it was a process, so...
I loved that you stepped in
when you could tell they were out of their depth.
They still found it, they just needed that little tweak,
and you provided that, and then again stepped back.
Sammy, can I ask, when you opened the box,
I heard you say "I hate orienteering.
"What's the point?" Yep.
Do you think that's a great start to the adventure?
I've always hated orienteering. Good point, though. Yeah.
I didn't go into it with an overly positive frame of mind P
that's a valid point.
OK, let's go to Mark and Leanne our team parents.
It was really chaotic. There was sort of a bunch of leaders.
Your son had a go, and you shut him down.
Matthew said straight away, "That's the direction to go,"
we should've just let him go.
Mark, watching that back,
how would you do differently next time?
Oh, look, I've got to be able to relinquish control,
especially with the 16-year-old, Matt.
I suppose it's a bit of the old bull letting go
and giving the young bull a go.
He's a man now. He's growing up right.
We've always had Mark as the man of the house.
How do we stop them from now bumping heads?
Force creates resistance.
When somebody pushes against you,
you can either push back, which is the natural thing to do,
or you can do what we would call 'reasoned deference'.
In other words, we say "I know you want to go that way,
"before I let you go down that path, let's have a conversation about it."
And then you defer to them.
We support their autonomy.
Our kids need to have some autonomy,
it helps them to grow as people.
Problems arise when parents who are accustomed to being in charge
deny their children that opportunity for growth.
One of the most important things we can do as parents
is to make sure that kids know that we believe in them.
I think that team parents blew this one.
You could say Mark is the coach,
but his oldest son is the captain,
and in that instance, it may be wise to listen to the captain
and let the captain lead.
Coming up, it's sink or swim for our finalists.
Daddy's out!
You're headed over the other side of the river.
Nicolas, I am very aware of what I'm doing!
Shooshies! "Shooshies?"
Then, as we raise the stakes...
(WHIMPERS) Wait, if I fall, do I die?
It's a question of trust.
Probably not. You might break an arm, but that's about it.
Instead of maybe focusing on the broken arm,
you could've incorporated a few more positive things
about the feelings at the end of it.
And at the end of the night...
The panel has a big decision to make.
..who will be crowned our parenting champions?
To find Australia's best parenting style,
we sent our four finalists to Glenworth Valley Outdoor Adventure
to face the extreme family mission.
We've kicked things off with orienteering and so far,
we've seen our Lighthouse and team families.
This activity is testing
if parents can hand over control to their kids.
As they search for items
which will help them in the next stage of the mission.
Let's see how our American and Honest families go.
Head northeast at 278 degrees.
Now, Pia can use this.
As American parents, we decided to
give Pia the compass so that she could
find something educational in this
and learn how to actually use it.
Which way? 100 is right next to east.
Good job! Awesome.
I reckon we're gonna be just up here somewhere.
This family is very competitive.
When we have a goal, we really want to achieve it.
Ah! Ta-da!
You take that. We're pretty determined.
Turn in a slow circle until the red goes
in between the two things.
And then we're going 100m.
Let's go. This way.
You don't have to walk through the tree, Pia.
You can walk around the tree. (LAUGHTER)
Once we handed over control,
I helped Pia understand exactly how to use the compass correctly
and she was actually quite competent.
How do you feel now? A bit better? A bit more confident?
Yeah. Very confident.
Pretty easy. Pretty easy?!
Well, here's a paddle.
We are at the third checkpoint now. We are.
And then we'd just go back towards the creek so the creek's that way.
Alright, let's go.
When we completed everything, got all the things that were required,
we felt very proud of ourselves that we'd finished that.
That actually felt like a big accomplishment.
"You've done it!" Oh, cool! Well done. Good job.
Oh, my gosh. We're going treasure-hunting!
Straightaway, I'm thinking this is gonna be great.
We've got a go forward about 300m. OK? Alright, let's do it.
As a family, we hike.
We roam, we wander, we explore... without compasses.
If we're wrong, we'll just go in another direction.
Coming along, bud? Yeah.
My approach was just to keep the connection with the children.
And try and actually get everyone focused
so they could try and problem-solve
because no one had a skill in this area.
So something to tie up loose ends.
What would you tie up loose ends with?
Rope! Rope. (CHEERS)
(LAUGHS) Oh, there!
You left me hanging. Can I have a high five?
Once we figured out how the compass worked,
it was like all these doors just opened up
and it all just started happening P it was like magic.
I see it! What? What do you see?
(SQUEALS) It's a paddle!
That's what I was kinda thinking at first.
Let me take a look at the paddle.
Oh, a paddle! This is cool.
And then we just started flicking dirt.
(GIGGLING) Oh, my God. It could be poo, and it could be mud. Who knows?
(LAUGHTER)
(READS) "You've made it through the first part of your mission
"now you must build your own..."
Life raft! We're building our own life raft.
Alright. We've watched 'Titanic'.
They floated on a door before P we can do this, can't we?
Yeah! Alright P let's go!
I really love with you, Kat, when you gave them a plan of attack,
the kids were more engaged.
I think we definitely flounder around too much with different ideas
and giving too many options with our kids.
We love that your directness gives everyone the expectation
of how things are gonna look for them.
There is no blurred lines. You do a fabulous job.
Thank you. Thanks, Amy.
Just a question for the American parent team.
You're always goal-orientated and always on P
how do you find those ebbs and flows so it's not always up?
I don't know, I think we've learned a lot from coming here
and learning that maybe we are a little bit too much like,
'Let's get it done, let's get it done."
And part of the process should be sort of part of the fun.
I think we need to work on that, for sure.
I really liked that because you just read what had to be done
and then you did it.
And then you found education in it
and it was positive and then you actually
then reflected on both personal and family accomplishment.
Thank you. Thanks.
Panel parents, grab those notepads, take some notes.
Later, we need you to decide
whose parenting style you think gave us the best parental guidance.
I really liked Kat's orienteering.
She was having fun with her kids,
throwing poo, I would never do that but she still made it fun as well.
OK, so far, all of our parents have found their way P
let's find out what happens
when they had to keep their families afloat.
We didn't send you up the creek without a paddle.
We set you up the creek without a raft.
Parents, you had 20 minutes to build a raft with your family.
But then you had to keep it afloat.
Maybe we should have asked earlier "Can everyone swim?"
(LAUGHTER)
Keeping your head above water as a family unit is hard.
Building a raft that can carry the whole family
takes collaboration, compromise, and effective communication.
OK, time to step things up a notch.
Let's have a look at your life raft builds.
What are we gonna start with?
All families need to be able to work together for a common goal.
So we've set the task of building a raft
that can keep everyone on board.
Great floaters.
Also great floaters. Also great floaters.
Let's do this thing.
As lighthouse parents, at the end of the day,
we weren't gonna dictate to them how to build the life raft.
We're gonna allow them the option of what to do
and then sort of support them through it.
Alright, so the bottom of the raft is those big barrels.
How many big barrels?
All of them. Everyone had a job.
Rory tying a knot to a milk crate and putting some crates on top.
His challenge was to bring that down to the water for us.
Ow. How are you going, Rory? Good?
Almost there. Good job, mate. See you soon.
This is gonna keep him occupied for at least 15 minutes.
So good. Alright, does it float?
It's too late to fix it if it doesn't.
Alright, everyone on. Let's go. Rory up there!
Hold on, Rory.
With four kids, it floated really well.
OK, that's the easy part.
And then we got on. (SCREAMS)
Slide your butt over.
(SCREAMS) Oh, no!
Daddy's out.
What are we gonna do? What do you reckon of these?
Will this float, do you reckon? It might.
In the American-style, I suppose our expectations for Pia
is just basically to stay focused,
try her best to help out where necessary,
and be forward-thinking about things.
Test if it floats!
Yeah. It floats.
Alright, bring it back, so we can decide how to put it together.
So straight off the top, I knew that I wouldn't be able
to hop on the raft after my back surgeries,
because it would be too dangerous.
Pia, we need your help, please. Put this underneath.
Stop playing around.
My role was mainly just to help motivate
and get the girls down the river.
It's gonna nearly fall apart.
No, it's not! Have faith.
It didn't look like a life raft at all P
it just looked like a bunch of pipes all tied together.
I think we move it over to the water.
Out of the way! (SCOFFS) Child!
Pay attention.
It's not coming apart and it seems like it's gonna float.
I was so focused on getting this done.
See my oar how it's dipped this way?
It's always like this then pulling. You're going backwards.
Can you please not navigate on the side?!
OK... Shooshies! Shooshies!
'Shooshies'!
You're headed over to the other side of the river, though.
Nicholas, I am very aware of what I'm doing, thank you.
OK!
It felt good, we were making momentum P it was slow, but steady.
One, two... Swap. You probably need three.
One, two... We got this.
One, two.
Yay! (HOOTS) Good job.
Alright P are you good? That's really good.
You guys did really well.
Lighthouse, I so love how you give something
that's within the kid's capability.
It keeps them really engaged
and feeling like they're contributing, which is amazing.
I don't think we're ever gonna get to the end,
but it was more about doing it as a tight family.
Yeah, and we had a ball and the kids all fell in,
Lottie lost it, I dragged her out of the water,
but the rest of the kids went for a swim.
Any comments about our American parents?
What I love with you guys was you
moved to third goalpost to achieve your goal.
Nick, this is not where you can do it,
so let's move the goalpost to still achieve what we want to do P
you're consistent in that approach.
Just in terms of when Nick does give his voice -
and Nick, I've been you on the sideline, so I can say this -
don't shoosh him down, sometimes that's all he can give.
Yeah, OK. I realise when I watched that that I wasn't all that nice.
I was completely out of my depth,
but yeah, no, I think we can work on that.
I'm a strong believer that our children should see our emotions
and should be able to see us angry
and the main thing is as long as you apologise if you do the wrong thing.
When we have a strong goal orientation,
we can sometimes become insensitive
to the emotional and psychological needs of people around us
because we've gotta get the goal.
When we become insensitive and our tone shifts,
we can do a whole lot of things
that are not good for the connection in the relationship.
How the Lighthouse team took on this challenge was...
Resonated very much.
Because they gave every team member a role to play.
Even the little one did a good job as well.
Oh, such a bloody boofhead.
Our words create our children's worlds.
And later... (SCREAMS)
I wondered whether she wanted to impress you guys as adults.
Maybe it wasn't the best way to treat her.
No child should be responsible for a parent's disappointment.
Tonight is finals night where we see
which of our four finalists will reach the pinnacle of parenting
and be selected Best Parenting Style.
This is parenting gone wild.
We want to find out whose style is unbreakable.
We've seen if our first families could work together
to build a raft that will carry them all merrily down the stream.
Let's see how our other two went.
You ready to sink, Dad? Here we go.
Is there enough floats there for our body weight?
We're about to find out. (CHUCKLES)
So we need to try and tie these together.
Yeah. Hang on, we gotta build this raft.
Wait, wait, wait. Shouldn't we make this near the water?
Yeah, so let's take all the material down to there.
Very apprehensive at first.
This would have to be some sort of special life raft
to float eight people on a river.
But as Team parents, you gotta show the team,
you gotta show the family that you're optimistic.
You gotta give them belief.
Look! Put those blue barriers on the side.
And then we put these in the middle
and then we put that white things on top of these blue things.
It's gonna work. I know it's gonna work.
Trust me. Make sure they don't come apart.
They won't.
Otherwise, we'll end up in the ocean.
You're tying skills are great. My tying skills are perfect.
Michael's the one that tied the pipes.
They're crap, Matt.
The team was chaotic. We were going in all directions.
The pipes have fallen off the rope on the side.
Good. How is that my fault?
I'm not saying anything.
People were swinging off ropes...
Wheee!
Other people were putting other team members down.
It's not gonna work, Mattie!
You have no faith.
Oh, yeah, it's shit. Excuse me!
It was on for young and old. There was crying...
(SCREAMING) Wait, Bailey. Just wait.
You name it, it was happening.
(SCREAMING CONTINUES)
OK, OK. Stop. Stop. Everybody, stop.
Come in. Seriously.
We are not working together here at all.
There is no cohesion, there's no nothing.
All we're doing is arguing.
Billy, Matthew, I need you on the same page.
Huddles do work in our family.
Our kids sometimes stray off in a bit of a tangent.
We sort of got to pull them back in.
Mattie and Billy, pretend you're in a scrum and push.
Three, two, one. Scrum!
Push, push, push!
(LAUGHTER)
Oh, my God.
We were trying to push, pull, you name it,
we were trying to get that boat to the river in one piece.
It's cracking!
Hang on, all the parts are coming out too.
It's broken! Did not happen.
Pull! I just want the pipes.
It all fell apart. But we didn't let it faze us.
Right, I know what we can do.
I've got the plan. Everyone grab one.
(CHUCKLES) Bill, grab one. I'm gonna get my family down the lake.
So we just got the kids, one in here, one on next,
and we broke them down that river.
Let's finish this as a team. Let's finish now.
We got this.
Look, at the end of the day, we kept pushing on,
there was no way we were gonna give up on this, no matter what.
We did it. Hands in. One, two, three.
ALL: Team!
(APPLAUSE)
It was always gonna be a hard task P especially with six children.
It all kind of fell apart and the team broke apart,
but then the coach at halftime jumped in
he gave the talk, and he assembled the troops.
Although it seemed like chaos, there was a lot of collaboration,
and a lot of discussion,
and I think there's a very nice understanding
between the constituent parts of that machine.
We probably needed a P&O cruise liner to get our family on,
so probably needed a bit of a bigger boat, just quietly.
OK, we have one more to see. Kat, our Honest parent.
Now, what equipment do we want to use?
How big do we have to make this? Do we want to use barrels?
Do we want to use pipes?
You're really big, so I think we should...
Thanks. (LAUGHTER)
As an Honest parent,
I did tell them I have yet again no idea what I'm doing.
This might not work.
High probability that it won't.
When I'm communicating with the children, there is no grey.
I don't believe in fluff.
This is the worst raft I've ever seen.
I got you. I got you. Yes, keep going. Pull yourself up. Yes!
Come on, Huckleberry Finn!
Same thing, gently. Gently!
(SQUEALS) Such a bloody boofhead.
And I thought, "Oh, crikey, here we go, we're all about to...
"How deep is this water?" That's what I kept thinking.
(ALL SCREAM)
So cold! Oh, my willy!
Alright, stop. Look... (SCREAMS)
Billie, can you stop screaming?
(SQUEALS)
Listen to me. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop.
I raised my voice a bit because I think we needed to
because I couldn't actually hear myself even think at this point.
There's only one way we're gonna do this, watch, watch...
Look at... Shhh! Shut up!
Look, we're gonna have to dig it in the sand and pull it.
See what I'm doing here?
My kids don't know me any other way.
They really just respond to me being direct.
It's getting deep. Just cope!
Don't be a wuss.
We started moving across and then everyone felt that excitement
and everyone embraced that.
(SQUEALS) Yes!
Oh, my God, Wilson! Wilson!
I loved it. We felt really, really good getting there.
It was a really big achievement.
We actually just build a raft and floated downstream.
How many families can say they've done that?
A million. Not too many? I love it.
That was well done.
I love you, Mum.
OK, I love you too. We've actually done it.
Kat, your communication, again, was exemplary.
It's not about winning, and in your words, this may not work.
But you still centred them back to what the task was.
I don't think I needed to say 'wuss',
that's something that I detected in myself.
Yeah.
A show of hands - how many of us have been a moment of exasperation
called our kids a name?
Other than their actual name.
So pretty much everyone in the room. We all have those moments.
Why did you take if you could go back you wouldn't?
Because that sounded like I was belittling her a little bit.
There was also a playful 'boofhead' in there as well.
I call my kids swamp donkeys, boofhead, bush chook, wildebeest.
That's our language and we all laugh. It's just playful.
The voice that our children hear from us
becomes the voice that they hear inside themselves.
The names that we use can really affect them,
even with playful banter.
If we're not careful, our children can grow up to believe
that they are a boofhead. Yeah.
Watch our tone, watch our words, our words create our children's worlds.
Inner and outer.
What I said was, "Don't be a wuss."
But really at the end of the day,
it's nothing to be ashamed of being a little bit softer.
I'm big on reflection, that won't come out my mouth again.
Next... (WHIMPERS) What did I sign into?
..as the extreme family mission reaches its peak...
Billy, trust me. No. I'm not looking up.
Are you gonna tell me no on a footy field?
No, I want to do this by myself. Don't tell me no here.
..relationships are pushed to the brink.
His coach mentality,
he doesn't want to seem to wanna relinquish the head role.
Sometimes being brutally honest isn't in favour of the child.
If it's not balanced by that love, it won't work.
And later, we find out who has Australia's best parenting style.
Tonight only one style of parenting can be named best,
so the all-important final stage of your extreme family mission
was designed to send you all completely over the edge.
Abseiling from the very top of Parent Mountain,
we asked you to help your children harness up
and climb way out of their comfort zone.
This was a test of how do you help your kids handle stress
and overcome fear when the pressure is sky-high?
Abseiling can be really scary.
These kids may or may not go over the edge.
What we're really looking at is how
these parents connect with their kids.
How they support them through their fears.
And how they encourage them in the right direction.
(PEPPER SINGS) We're at the top of the mountain.
Wow, it's very high.
This is a 12m abseil,
which involves the child controlling their own rope release
to get down the cliff face.
It's the toughest physical challenge
we've ever done on Parental Guidance.
Unfortunately, guys, you have to be seven years or older
to participate at abseiling today.
You gonna do it?
Yeah. I am.
As Lighthouse parents, we are there as essentially a guiding light.
But ultimately, they steer the ship.
Thank you so much, little brother.
It's a formula for independence and strength
and I knew Pepper would have ago.
Did you guys have any questions?
How far are we going down, Ace?
This abseil here is 12m.
So it's like jumping off our building at home.
I would never do that, though.
(LAUGHTER)
I think it's important for our kids
to be challenged in a lot of situations.
I think if you don't learn how to overcome fear,
I think it's very hard for kids
to grow and to be less worried about the future.
I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing.
It's alright. That's why I'm here.
Alrighty, leaning back like you're in a recliner chair
with your feet up flat to the wall.
Nice job. Go, Pepper.
Wow, darling. It's amazing. Good job!
I think we play a role in Pepper's confidence.
We don't focus on the negatives in the scenario,
we really try and emphasise the fun and the experience.
Wow! Good job, Pepper.
Go, Pepper! Go, Pepper! Go, Pepper!
Hey! Good job, Pepper.
She's on the bottom, she made it.
Can I do it again?
(APPLAUSE)
Look down there.
Yeah, I know, just hold onto dad. We're high up.
For me, when I found out that we were abseiling,
I was nervous for the family.
Nah!
I'm not doing it, Dad.
OK, stop.
We know for a fact that Billy has an actual fear of heights.
I'm not doing it. Ha-ha! Let's go!
I thought, "Well, OK, let's just keep their family cool,
"calm, and collected and let's just get through it."
Alright, mate, jumping in between these two ropes for me.
Come on Matt-man. You got this, brah.
Matthew took the lead for us,
which he does a lot of the time within our family.
I feel like Spider-Man, Mum. My dreams are coming true.
(CACKLES) Go, Matt man.
So I think Mattie thought if he goes and he can get down to the bottom...
I'm down.
Then it would be the ripple effect and they would follow him.
Alright, are you up, Ella? Alright, let's go, baby girl. You got this.
As Team parents, we teach our kids
you gotta have a lot of determination.
Just keep your feet a little bit further apart, bubba.
Better. That's a lot better. Just ease yourself back.
OK, you got about 10-15cm till you get to the edge.
Don't keep looking back. Just focus on me and look up front, OK?
(WHIMPERS) You're OK. You're OK.
She didn't want to be there.
But she kept pushing, and pushing,
and pushing her limits.
I'm too scared. OK. Ella, it's OK to be scared.
That's what happens in life, OK?
You can do this. I want to go back.
You want to come back up? OK, come back up. Come back up.
You done well, baby. Good job, Ella.
You done good, Ella. Well done.
I don't consider today a loss with Ella.
She pushed herself emotionally
and for a long period of time.
Give me a cuddle. OK? I'm proud of you.
I'm so proud of you.
I'm so scared.
You're OK. Go, Bill. Come on, Bill-Bill.
I can't do it. Yes, you can.
You can do it, Billy. Don't say that.
I can't. Look up. Look up.
You gotta start leaning back, Bill.
Look up. Look up. Billy, Billy. Billy. Trust me.
No. I'm not looking up.
Look up. No.
Are you gonna tell me now on a footy field?
No, I just a... Look at me.
Just stop for a second. Are you gonna tell me no on a footy field?
I want to do this by myself. So don't tell me no here.
If you want something in life, you've got to persevere.
In order for you to grow,
you have to put yourself outside your comfort zone.
You got to lean back. Stop, stop, stop. Please.
Yeah, but I'm trying to help you.
Yeah, I know, but I don't like people talking to me
when I'm trying to think, Mark.
Can you take it off? I don't want to do it.
You sure? Yes.
You don't want to have a crack. Yes.
You don't want to have another go? There's so much pressure.
Now, don't be silly. There is no pressure. No pressure.
No pressure on you at all, mate.
(APPLAUSE)
Let's talk about Mark and Leanne's challenge.
I really liked watching that.
You guided them through it, you talk to them constantly,
and then when you're younger ones hit that point of fear,
you didn't push them too hard,
but you talked with them about that fear,
and you let them make their choice.
I think that video showed I was a bit more abrupt with Billy
than I was with Ella.
I guess that shows again that you're catering to their ages, though.
To me, it seemed like you were expecting a bit more out of Billy
so you're trying to push him that little bit more.
Telling me no, for me, it's him tapping out a little bit.
I've given him instruction most of his life.
In terms of also coaching him on the field.
But my tone of voice can be different.
I felt that was a bit of an eye-opener for me.
Their son said, "I've got this, I want do it on my own."
I really would've liked to have seen Mark
just take a little step back from being his coach and just be his dad.
When it comes to these huge emotions that our children are experiencing,
if we continue to tell our children
that they are not to tell us no,
what will happen when they are 15, 16, 26,
and they have a boyfriend or girlfriend
who says, "Go on, do it, don't tell me no."
Our children have got to be able to say no in safe places
like our living room or on top of a cliff with a harness around them.
So that they can say no in unsafe places when they're older.
Let's talk about Sammy and Jason, our Lighthouse parents.
What I love with you guys, your kids just get in and get it done.
And they were so encouraging right from the whole family.
Thank you. It is definitely a must, whether they want to or not,
they have to support one another and give words of encouragement.
I think the way you guys empower them
with 'smart, kind, brave, strong',
it doesn't feel like it's focused just on the achievement of the task.
Yeah, yeah.
It's like, you got this because of the person you are,
you're a legend, now go forth and conquer.
Pepper, she was just so confident
and she just knew, "Yeah, I want to do it."
She went there full of 'I can do this' not 'they want me to do this',
and I think that was a really awesome thing to see.
Let's take a look at our American parents Kim and Nick.
You got this, Pia.
Yeah, Pia! It'll be fine. You'll be great. It'll be easy.
You will be excited. You're not afraid of heights. It's all good.
Come on, you got it.
As American parents, our expectations for Pia when she has to
face some fears is that she should really do her best to overcome that.
I'm feeling now kinda nervous.
You'll be fine.
No, no. I need to think about it.
Sometimes she may be fearful of something
but we want her to push beyond what she thinks she can do and go for it.
Off you go.
Because we know that she's going to be OK.
It's just getting her to get over that little threshold of fear.
Keep your feet nice and wide apart
and you're gonna start walking backwards.
You got it, baby. You got it.
You can do this. You're OK.
(WHIMPERS) That's it.
I can't... You got it!
You doing it! (CRIES)
Just keep moving your feet down.
I don't want to do this. I don't want to do this at all.
I can't do this. I can't do this. Can we please get up?
(SCREAMS)
I don't want to do this at all.
It's OK! Shh! You're alright.
It's only up to you. You're totally safe.
I can't do this, I can't do this. Can we please get up?
(SQUEALS) You can get up.
Start walking.
Walk, walk, walk. Walk, walk, walk. Walk, walk, walk.
Alright, good girl.
It's scary as, huh?
It's OK. You're right.
I was a little surprised that she was so upset about it.
I felt like I was gonna die.
You're not gonna die! Like I was gonna fall off.
(CRIES)
Maybe you can watch me try.
I decided it was time for me to step up and lead by example.
I won't be able to do it because of my back situation.
Can I jump out and do that?
(HOOTS) See how she's going?
Yeah.
Oh, like a professional P look at that.
Alright!
Do you want to give it a try? Yeah, I guess I want to.
Once I completed it, I think our expectation is
that she would have another go at it.
Are you ready? Are you sure?
You can do it.
Alright, let's go.
You got your glove on? Yeah.
Don't think about going over the edge.
You got this. You got this. You're good.
You got it. Keep going.
Keep going!
(WHIMPERS) You got it!
(CRIES) Come on!
(CRIES) You're OK!
A little bit faster. Let it out. Let it out. Let it out.
(SCREAMS)
It's alright. (CRIES)
Keep going! Good job, P.
She must be nearly at the bottom, right?
Yeah.
That was a perfect example of what American parenting is.
I did it!
(BOTH CHEER) Good job.
We had a child who was afraid
and then we motivated her and she ended up doing it.
Are you proud you did it yourself? Yeah?
You not just saying that? I'm not just saying that.
OK, well, that's good!
We're really proud of you!
That's great. That was really hard. Really hard.
Pia was so frantic
and you just went, "Right, I'll lead by example -
"I'll jump in, let's get this done."
The moment she came back up, she was still petrified,
but she was proud of herself.
And you guys accomplished that with the way you parent. It's amazing.
So awesome.
I felt that if she didn't complete the challenge,
she would really regret it. Yeah.
I think it was incredible to see
how much fear she actually had but still did it.
And what it shows to me is how much trust she has in you guys.
Pia obviously felt unsafe in that situation.
She did.
And I wondered whether she was motivated
to do it because she wanted to impress you guys as adults.
She made that decision herself. We never pushed her to go back again.
A little part of me was questioning was the fear of the height greater
than the fear of disappointing the parents?
Because no child should be responsible
for a parent's disappointment.
Yeah, I mean, I feel maybe it wasn't the best way to treat her.
But I also feel like it's very important for us that
we are teaching her life skills and not everything in life is fun.
It's an emotional subject for Kim because...
I've had to do everything.
I couldn't walk five times
and so she's really had to pick up
everything and that's been tough because
Pia's also growing up seeing me totally disabled five times.
I think it would just be so nice to see you start looking after you
and prioritizing you
because when you're thriving,
then I think it gives us better access to our parenting tools
that we really want to use a lot more.
(APPLAUSE)
And, Kim, I think we all agree you're a really good man.
You're a very strong woman.
Thanks.
We definitely see benefits to the American parenting.
Pia was absolutely petrified
but her mum stood up to the task
and said, "Right, I'll show you leadership, I'll do it."
And Pia jumped right in and followed.
Massive win for that kid.
You can see that American parenting style, they want to push them,
but she cried the whole way down
and it didn't really seem like it was for Pia's benefit.
OK, we have one more abseil to see.
Here's Kat, our Honest parent.
You're about to do something that you've never done before.
I have all the faith in the world in you. We got this.
Yeah. If I fall, what just go down?
You'll fall 10m and hit your head.
Will I die? No, probably not.
You might break an arm, but that's about it.
Oh, crap! What did I sign into?!
(LAUGHTER)
The biggest thrill of your life.
What if I don't want to do it?
Say something! I'm getting freaked out.
I absolutely know you can do this.
You know what? I don't blow wind up your arse, mate.
If I didn't think you could do this,
I would say, "Billie, this is WAY too much for you -
"don't even try it."
Oh, love. Hey. I don't want to do it.
OK! You know what? Look at me.
I'm never, ever, ever gonna make you do something
you don't want to do, OK?
I'm not gonna make you do that.
Her crying told me that she wasn't comfortable.
Then the mother bear kicked in.
Are you sure?
I want to relieve her of pain, you know?
I want to be the honest parent,
but I don't want to instill pain on my children.
Jesse? How would you feel about going first?
OK.
Now, remember, darling, got 1 foot on one side of that little pad,
and when put on the other side.
I don't think I can do this.
Nice and easy. That's it, buddy.
Jesse, you can do this. Jesse, have a breath...
I don't think I can do this.
I just want you to get to this little bit.
Even just baby steps. I'm so proud of you.
(SIGHS)
When he started looking at me
and I could see him beating himself up internally,
my role was completely flipped around.
There is absolutely no shame in not doing it.
It's OK!
I'm sorry.
Please never say sorry to me for not doing something
because you don't feel comfortable to do it.
You too, Miss Chook.
Right? It's alright. It's alright.
This is something... This could be on our little list
of things to try to do and do at another time.
It will be. It will be? See? There you go.
It's not turned you off for life.
You still want to have another shot.
You want to conquer it now. So you're right, it's a thing.
Next time. There will be a next time.
All right? Yeah.
OK.
Alright, there's some big emotion and big reaction to that.
You were just so chill, but so kind.
I'm just, like, incredibly inspired by you, as a mother.
The thing about your style is if it's not balanced by that love,
it won't work.
For you, your intense love with that straightforward honesty,
like, brilliant.
Thank you, guys. Wow.
I don't wanna burst your bubble at all, it's got nothing to do with it,
I loved what happened, but as a dance teacher,
if I've got little kids that are starting dancing for the first time
and they're crying and their holding their mum's leg,
the last thing that I would ever do
is bring the parent into the room.
If you had stayed back,
they may have been more likely to do it,
rather than you being there, "You OK?
"You feeling alright?" That's what I would've done.
Billie, she's not a crier, so as soon as I saw that...
I'm calling that for you.
I read my children's cues and I know my children's cues.
She knew her children so well,
and in a challenge about connection,
she was so connected to both of them
and I was beyond impressed.
If we keep our kids in their comfort zone,
we limit their opportunities for growth.
They don't develop where they stay safe.
Encouraging our kids to experience stressful situations is important.
Muscles don't grow unless they carry a stressful load,
and our character doesn't develop
unless it's placed under stress as well.
As parents, our job is to help our children
navigate these stressful situations
in a way that is supportive.
Finalists, you've completed the extreme family mission.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
Thank you so much for all of the parental guidance you've given us.
The panel has a big decision to make.
Do you think we can have the room one last time?
We feel very privileged to have been able to go through this experience.
We really foster independence and resilience,
and I think that type of parenting style is definitely a winner.
If we win, I think people respond to the way we set the bar.
And then when that's achieved, we actually set a bar again.
You can always do better.
Next...
I have a lot of concerns with Lighthouse parenting, to be honest.
The truth comes out.
I think Mark and Leanne fell apart a bit in this whole challenge.
Before our panellists make their biggest decision yet.
There was a lot of pressure on Pia - she was terrified.
Who will take the parenting crown?
You can only do the honest style
if you are really connected to your kids.
We've come to the end of the extreme family mission.
Panel, having seen our finalists in action tonight
and across all their previous challenges,
now it is all up to you
To choose Australia's best parenting style.
Let's gather round...
So the big question we need you to answer
how should we be raising the next generation of Australians?
We're looking for the style that passes the 3Cs of parenting
control, communication, and most of all connection.
Let's talk about Sammy and Jason, our Lighthouse parents.
How do we think that they went with the extreme family mission?
Pepper, would you like to be the compass person?
I wanted to do that! You can be the map guy.
We knew today was gonna be outside of our comfort zone
but Lighthouse parenting
is a formula for independence and strength.
She's off! We've got a girl on a mission.
We found something!
Ow!
How you going? Good?
Almost there.
Good job, mate.
(SQUEALS) Oh, no.
Go, Pepper. Go, Pepper. Go, Pepper! Wow!
I just love seeing how confident and independent their kids are.
They take everything on just so fearlessly.
The way that Pepper got up and did that abseiling, she just took it on.
They trust in their kids in the leash that they're giving them
and let themselves lead and they never seem flustered.
I wonder if sometimes there is too much pressure on Pepper?
And that in giving her freedom, is that freedom
involving responsibilities that may be a 10-year-old shouldn't have?
But also, I think it's all very well
to give your children all this trust,
but I just don't trust other people.
They can trust their kids, fine,
but I don't trust the other people around.
Let's talk about Mark and Leanne and their extreme family mission.
With teen parenting, no team member gets left behind.
I'm here!
(SCREAMING) Wait, Bailey. Just wait.
OK, OK, stop. Everybody, stop.
There is no cohesion, there is no nothing. All we're doing is arguing.
Billy, Matthew, I need you on the same page.
I can't do it. Yes you can. Trust me.
No. I'm not looking up.
Are you gonna tell me no on a footy field?
Can you take it off? I don't want to do it.
What's something we've learned from our team parents, Mark and Leanne?
Don't have six kids.
(LAUGHTER)
I actually think that I learned that you COULD have six kids and thrive.
The way that they support each other, it actually made me excited
to go and make some more babies.
(LAUGHTER)
Michael, how scared are you feeling right now?
Um, I just made an appointment at lunch time.
(LAUGHTER)
I actually think Mark and Leanne fell apart a bit
in this challenge, unfortunately.
There was a bit more doing what they wanted rather than coming together.
I do wonder sometimes with Mark with his coach mentality,
he doesn't seem to want to relinquish the head role sometimes,
that does concern me a little bit.
I think after seeing himself today in that challenge,
he's gonna change that. Yeah, I agree, Tancy.
It hit him between the eyes.
I think in a coach's handbook,
you're always gonna take on new strategies
to get your team in the best position on the field.
Let's talk about Kim and Nick, our American parents.
So the creek's that way.
This way, Yep. Exactly this way.
As Americans parents, we set the bar quite high
and then we expect our child to achieve.
How're you feeling now? A bit better?
Yeah, very confident now.
Can you please not navigate on the side?
OK. Shooshies! Shooshies!
We got this.
Yay! (HOOTS)
You got this. You got this. You're good.
You got it. Keep going.
(WHIMPERS) Come on! A little bit faster,
A little bit faster, let it out, let it out.
I did it.
We're really proud of you. That was really good.
That was really hard.
One thing that stood out for me,
there was a lot of pressure on Pia, especially doing the abseiling.
I felt really bad for her.
I really agree with Kat there,
I was pained to see what she was going through.
I love how there's the goal-setting, the achievement-oriented style,
and giving her every opportunity to win
at everything that they have provided for her to participate in.
I think if you talk about the connection, the control,
and the communication,
I think their control and communication is very evident,
but then sometimes that connection is lost
because she doesn't get a voice.
I would've said the opposite P well, almost the opposite.
I would've said the connection is 100% there,
you look at the way Pia talks about her parents,
and the communication, they're always laying it out.
The control is where at points
they have struggled to let her have it.
Alright, let's unpack.
What did we learn from Kat's Honest parenting
in the extreme family mission?
Oh, my God! It could be poo and it could be dirt P who knows?
There is so much love in Honest parenting.
Because I'm not only honest when I'm feeling a little bit frustrated...
I'm extremely honest with how much I love them too.
(SQUEALS)
Listen to me, stop. Stop. Stop. Stop.
If I fall, will I die?
No, probably not.
You might break an arm, but that's about it.
What if I don't want to do it?
Oh, love.
I don't want to do it. OK, you know what?
I'm never, ever, ever gonna make you do something
that you don't want to do, OK?
I'm not gonna make you do that.
I think with Kat, I'm really impressed
because she gives her kids autonomy but there's
still direction and structure within it, which I really love.
Kat really showed that gentle side, especially in the abseil.
She can come across as quite strong
and hilarious, but I loved seeing that gentle side too.
I felt on the abseiling mission,
instead of maybe focusing on the broken arm, you could've
incorporated a few more positive things
about the feelings at the end of it and all that sort of stuff
instead of going straight to that.
Yeah, exactly. I think that might be an example
of sometimes when being brutally honest isn't in favour of the child.
If you're getting on that plane,
you're not gonna say to your kids, "We could crash and die here."
That's honest, but it's probably not helpful.
Thank you for your thoughts.
Panel parents, you can head back to your seats.
And write down your final vote.
JOHN: It's really tough because across all
four of the parenting styles, there's so many positives.
We're learning stuff from all of these families
which makes it such a hard decision.
It's a great parenting style,
but I think it's too much for everyone to do.
True.
One family ticked all the boxes for us.
Right.
Panel parents, we are coming to collect your votes.
You ready?
You had a good conversation going on there, you two.
It was hard. Thank you.
Thank you.
I'm sure it's well thought-out. Thank you.
The votes have been collected. Now they'll be counted.
(CHEERING)
Finalists, come back. (APPLAUSE)
Finalists, we have had a very interesting chat.
That's what parental guidance does.
We bring a whole lot of completely different parents with
strong views about how kids should be reared into a room and then
we talk respectfully, but clearly about the stuff that matters most.
And the conversations we get to have
change the parenting conversation in this country.
And help Australian parents to raise healthier, happier kids as a result.
All right, there's one more thing we need to look at
before we announce our parenting style champions.
Before each of you started this
parenting adventure, we asked you to write a letter.
As your adventure comes to a close, let's revisit your thoughts.
It's a letter.
It's their letter that we wrote. At the start.
Oh, my gosh. OK. Oh, my gosh.
A letter to myself.
"Never, ever did I think I would be doing something like this,
"and to be doing this with my partner and kids
"is something we will all treasure forever.
"I feel like Mark and I do a great job together raising our children,
"Mark and I do it together like a Team and that works for us."
"Family means everything to us.
"We are fully invested in Pia's future
"and the hard work she puts in today for a successful tomorrow."
"Ultimately, we are trying to raise a confident, happy, healthy,
"kind and accomplished future adult."
Each morning, we ask our children to say
"today I will be smart and kind and brave and strong."
"The goal is to help them see this as
"a way of life and for it to become second-nature to them.
"Through this experience, we really hope they get used to these skills
"so we can show them and remind them
"how great they were at achieving them.
"I'm hoping to show other parents the that even though I am direct
"and forthright with my approach,
"the level of adoration and respect
"that we all have for one another is formed from this honesty
"and the boundaries as opposed to friendship and reliance.
"To have the opportunity to raise
"good humans to enjoy their lives
"is a wonderful achievement.
"Signing off, go and get yourself a glass of wine, Kat."
What a great letter.
Wouldn't change a word of it.
I feel like this experience has allowed us to witness them
being what we're trying to teach them to be
and that actually has made me really proud.
You're an amazing mum, you are their rock,
and they do look to you for support,
without you, they wouldn't be half as good or half as strong or brave.
Yeah, you're amazing.
Thank you.
Damn crying TV.
(GIGGLES)
Why on TV?
I think Pia is becoming a really wonderful young lady,
I think that's due to our influences parenting.
She's an awesome kid, everybody says so.
Yeah.
Not biased or anything.
You're such a good mum because you're so loving and caring for Pia,
and you're always thinking of her first.
Thank you.
This experience has really shown me
that you are the other half of my team.
Because you're so hands-on, it makes my job so much more easy.
So you're there behind me the whole time.
Yeah, ditto. As a teammate, I couldn't ask for anyone better.
I know you got my back.
I think we're doing a good job of raising up our children.
Yeah, not bad. Not bad. Ask me in 10 years.
Their teenage years. Tell me about it.
I've got the shotguns ready.
My kids are wonderful humans.
They're quirky, they're unique, they're honest.
They're forthright and they're happy.
But sometimes, you know, sometimes I think about if I'm not around...
Because one day, I'm not gonna be here anymore.
And I want... Oh, wow.
One day, I'm not gonna be here anymore
and I want them to, um, now that I always did my best
and I have filled them with all the tools in your
tool basket that's gonna get you through life,
and what would Mum do?
I think that's really important.
Kat!
(APPLAUSE)
You said then that you were proud of your kids.
Are you proud of yourself?
Yeah, I'm not really good at taking compliments,
which is something that I probably need to work on a little bit.
But I am so proud of them.
They look at me like they want to learn stuff
and I am very aware that we all have an expiry date.
And, you know... So it's important to fill them up as much as I can.
The best parenting style is...
We find out Australia's best parenting style.
On parenting's night of nights,
it's time to find out who has Australia's best parenting style.
I feel really elated to be in the final.
My parenting style being honest can be a little bit blunt,
but I think my honesty comes through
not just in the stern moments,
but in how much I love them.
I am so incredibly grateful being in the final.
I'm so happy and I feel so proud.
Finalist! Grand final!
We're doing it together as a team. Literally.
This has been a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
I've learned about my children, how strong they are,
and also the fact that my wife is just an incredible human being.
And I would never change it.
There's definitely something that we will treasure forever.
We are very proud of our style.
We didn't think we'd make the finals at all.
But the way that we push our child and let her try those risks
and do things out of her comfort zone, it's working pretty well.
Now we've called time on the experience,
Mark and Leanne, how are you guys?
Yeah, it's been a really good experience.
It opened my eyes, already taken some action. Thank you, Justin.
And just hopefully we grow six really good little human beings
in a good part of the world.
Sammy and Jason.
We are definitely walking away as better parents
thanks to everybody in this room.
I'm walking away as a better person, for sure.
I think most importantly for us,
perhaps we are walking away as better partners.
Kim and Nick. It's been quite a journey for you guys.
Any final thoughts?
I mean, I think the biggest thing we've gotten out of this
is to stop, listen to Pia more and then go from there.
Instead of starting with... (SQUEALS) "Oh! It's great!"
Or "Oh, that's not good."
I'm really taking on board the advice that Justin gave earlier.
Yeah, intrinsic motivation.
And really embracing it moving forward.
Kat, any final words that you would like to say to us all?
I'd like to say thank you.
Previously, I've had fears, but now I'm not afraid to say I'm wrong,
I'm not afraid to ask for help.
All the advice along the way,
I feel like that's the biggest bulk billing expert ever.
(LAUGHTER)
Yay!
(APPLAUSE)
We all know the prize for being a great parent
is a happy family, and great kids.
So you're all winning.
But we can only thank one set of parents for teaching us the most.
For being fearless in challenging themselves.
And for being the best style here tonight.
And, yes, that does come with an awesome thank you gift.
Our parenting champions tonight
will receive an incredible 10-day family holiday.
Aboard a P&O cruise ship.
It's the trip of a lifetime.
A 10-day cruise for the whole family
to the spectacular tropical islands
of the South Pacific or Papua New Guinea.
The gift includes onboard meals, activities, and entertainment.
As well as connecting balcony rooms for up to eight family members.
(SQUEALS)
There's also on-board spending money, and flight vouchers
to get you to the departure port
courtesy of P&O Cruises Australia.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
Will this holiday be all ships and giggles?
Is this just for the parents who are shipshape?
In all seriousness, thank you for sharing your families with us.
Your courage in facing the challenges,
your bravery in facing the tough questions
has started conversations all across the country.
Those conversations will help all of us do a better job raising our kids.
Thank you.
Guess what? The votes are in.
Voted by you, the best parenting style is...
..Kat, Honest parent.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
Oh, no!
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE CONTINUES)
What's this mean to you, Kat?
I can't even talk!
I cannot believe that.
Guys, I am so grateful.
You're awesome. 100%.
That is not what I expected to happen.
So grateful for all of you seeing and loving me.
The way you obviously do. And my kids.
I cannot actually believe it. I'm sorry, I'm like... (EXCLAIMS)
I think we all need to give her a hug.
Bring it in! Bring it in! (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
I feel unbelievable.
I can't even get words out.
Like, that's how I feel!
(CONTESTANTS CHANT)
Love Kat. So happy for her.
She's doing it all alone and she's nailing it.
Yeah, she's not just doing it, she's knocking it out of the ballpark.
(CHANTING CONTINUES)
I think I'm always gonna be an honest parent.
It just confirms it. I can finally trust my gut instinct.
And it's telling me that I'm on the right track.
(APPLAUSE)
Captioned by Ai-Media ai-media.tv