When host Ally Langdon started filming the first season of Parental Guidance, she didn’t know there were such things as “parenting styles”.
In fact, when raising her two children Mack, six and Scout, four, she and her husband Mike Willisee Jr “just fell into it”.
“I just sort of thought we had good days and bad days and it kind of blew my mind,” Langdon said in an interview with Chattr about the different ways to parent.
“Some of the couples have really researched [their style] how they want to raise their kids. I think I sort of fall into the majority where we just fall into it but I don’t know a whole lot of parents who sit down and go, ‘Okay, how are we going to do this? And what’s our approach?’
Like a lot of Australian families, getting through the day and “winging it” is part and parcel with being a mum, which gave her a brilliant idea for season three.
“Maybe that’s an idea for the next season,” she joked. “Is that we bring in a whole bunch of parents who’ve never thought about how they parent. They’re just winging it!”
Ally Langdon on how the Influencer parents changed her perception of parenting in the digital age
“A big focus this season is to do with screen-time technology and the safety of our kids when they’re online,” Langdon said.
In particular, Influencers Kat, 36 and Jonathan, 40 and their children Latisha,18 and Deja, 11, represent what it’s like to parent in the digital age.
“Their [Kat and Jonathan] kids are online, be really tech-savvy,” Langdon said. “They’re beautiful kids — I mean, I should make the point that all the kids in the show are gorgeous, they’re all really, really lovely kids, so all the parents are doing something right — but the [Influencer] kids have social media accounts and they have hundreds of 1000s of followers. It’s a big part of their life. And I think even just reading about it, I had a whole lot of preconceived ideas.”
During the June 5 episode of the series, Honest single-mum Kat was horrified to find out that her daughter would not only share her street address online with a stranger but would also lie about it. In an emotional scene, every single parent, including Langdon, felt for her.
“It hit everyone straight between the eyes,” Langdon admitted. “It’s really interesting with different approaches from different parents, some have had really open conversations about safety online and other parents who don’t, and I feel like I’ve fallen into this category.”
Parental Guidance airs Monday and Tuesday at 7.30 pm on 9 and 9Now.
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