The Weston Family

## Recap

### Submission Reel

The submission reel features Andrea, Fred, their eldest son, Andrew, who is 4 years old, and their 11-month-old baby, Sean. Andrea and Fred explain the challenges they face while raising their children. They mention that their older son, Andrew, has a reputation for being a bully and often terrorizes his little brother out of jealousy. Time-outs have not been effective in correcting his behavior. Andrew has been kicked out of daycare due to his aggressive behavior, and they have not been able to find another preschool that is willing to take him. Dinner and bedtime are also problematic. At dinner time, Andrew refuses to eat his food if it's not his favorite, and at bedtime, he plays games with his mother, which upsets and wakes up Sean.

### Observation

When Jo arrives at their home, Andrew appears calm and his parents are very welcoming. However, things take a turn when Andrew starts playing with a water hose in the backyard, and Jo witnesses his sudden aggression. When Andrea tells him to turn the water off, he refuses, so she turns it off herself. Andrew then throws around lawn furniture and toys. When Andrea approaches him, he runs away, which leads her to threaten him with a long time-out in his room. Eventually, Andrew listens to his mother, but calls her "poo-poo."

Later on, Andrew's friend Anaya comes over for a playdate. At first, everything seems okay, but it quickly takes a turn for the worse when Andrew draws on the table and blames it on his friend. However, little Anaya quickly points out that she did not do it, so Andrew scribbles on her picture. This upsets Anaya and she runs to her parents, who instruct her to tell Andrew not to do that.

Anaya didn't get a chance to react as Andrew, in a fit of anger, scribbled on her picture again as soon as she returned to the table. This made her attack Andrew and cry to her parents once more. Later, Anaya tried to build with Andrew's blocks, but he got angry and grabbed her face roughly. This caused Anaya to push Andrew, and she was sent to tears for the third time. Anaya's mom intervened and wanted Andrew and Anaya to play together nicely.

Ten minutes after the incident, Andrew started throwing blocks at Anaya. Andrea intervened and put Andrew into a "time-out" in his and Sean's room. However, Jo noticed that this disciplinary action was ineffective since Andrew was able to leave his room and Andrea was only able to hold him in place.

At dinnertime, Andrew refuses to eat a hot dog for half an hour. At bedtime, Andrew becomes hyperactive and roughhouses with Sean. When Andrea tucks them in and Jo says goodnight to the boys Andrew tells her to go home which makes Jo laugh. Andrew makes countless excuses as to why he cannot go to bed. He keeps running out of the room to turn on the hallway light. Because of Andrew's bedtime games, Sean isn't able to sleep either.

### Parent Meeting

During the parent meeting, Jo began by commending Fred and Andrea for their knowledge about Andrew and Sean. However, Jo then asked when their control over the situation started to slip. Jo pointed out that they are aware that Andrew manipulates them and asked why they allow it to happen. Andrea responded by explaining that she finds parenting to be challenging.

Jo expressed her concerns about Andrew's behavior, noting that he was very aggressive and overpowering to his friend Anaya during their playdate. He tormented her by throwing toys and shouting at her. Jo suggested that Andrea and Fred should teach Andrew how to play nicely with his friends as he won't know unless they do.

Andrea, however, was worried that her child would struggle. Jo reassured her that the couple is giving Andrew love, praise, and encouragement, but they need to balance that with teaching him appropriate social behavior. Andrea stated that this is where she and Fred have failed.

Jo reassures Andrea and Fred that it's not all about failing and encourages them not to feel like failures, as no parent is perfect. She asks if they are committed to developing a new plan of discipline for Andrew, to which they agree. Jo states that she is ready to work with them to create a successful plan.

### Teaching

Jo begins her teaching by bringing in her usual Family Schedule, since according to her, Andrew and Sean need to be put in a constant routine. Jo then introduces a new discipline technique (Naughty Spot). Afterwards, Andrew begins to choke Sean, but Jo gets him off and tells Andrew not to do that to Sean because he's only a baby, Andrew laughs it off and says that he's a big boy.

After Andrew had relentlessly tormented Sean, Andrea decided to put him in the Naughty Spot, which she calls the Wall. Although Andrew attempted to get up from the spot, Jo intervened and scared him back. Eventually, Andrew gave in and apologized to Sean.

Jo introduced Andrew to the Shared Play technique as a way to help him stop being aggressive towards his friends. Jo and Andrew implemented this technique with his friend Marnie. To their delight, Andrew listened to Jo's advice and for the first time, he played nicely with one of his friends.

During lunchtime, Andrea was trying to feed Sean when Andrew started throwing a massive temper tantrum. He was holding a SpongeBob sippy cup and demanded his chocolate milk to be warmed up, which interfered with Sean's meal. Soon enough, both of them began crying uncontrollably. Fred came in and was taken aback, telling Jo that he had never seen his kids like this. Andrew eventually hit Andrea, which led to his punishment - a one-way ticket to the Naughty Spot.

Four minutes later, Andrea managed to calm him down and eventually put him down as Jo instructed. After that, it was dinner time and Andrew was served chicken. To get Andrew to eat his chicken, Andrea used the Good Eater technique. After just four bites of chicken, Andrew ate his entire dinner for the first time.

Jo later explained to Andrea, Fred, and Andrew that Sean wouldn't be able to sleep in the same room as Andrew. To resolve this issue, they all helped put Sean in his own room to sleep. Jo then implemented the "Stay In Bed" technique to prevent Andrew from coming out of his room with an excuse. Although his first time out of bed was not an excuse, as his pet baby hamster (which was nocturnal) started running in his wheel. Andrea took the hamster's cage out of Andrew's room and he then went through his usual excuses. However, Andrea kept putting him back in bed until he fell asleep. After a few days, Jo left the Westons.

### Family Test Run

The test run started well during lunchtime, as Andrea used the Good Eater technique, which Jo commended. However, Andrew started hitting Sean and shouting at him. In response, Andrea warned him that if he did it again, she would make him sit on the Naughty Spot. Andrew called her a "poo-poo head".

Andrea led Andrew to a specific spot but did not inform him about the duration of his stay. Instead, she instructed him to ask her when he was ready to leave. Jo suggested that she should have told him how long he was supposed to stay there. Despite this, Andrew kept getting up. To Jo's surprise, Andrea asked him if he was ready to go.

Later on, Andrea and Fred encouraged Andrew to play with Sean, which Jo commended them for. Unfortunately, Andrew made a mistake during the game, and as a result, he had to go to the Naughty Spot again. Andrea shared that she knows her children will grow up, but she's worried that Andrew might not, and when she asked him to remain in the Naughty Spot, he angrily shouted at her and mimicked her words. Jo pointed out Andrew's behavior and stated that he has regained control of the situation.

After Andrew continued to misbehave, Andrea put him on the Naughty Spot. She mentioned that she would adopt Jo's techniques to handle the situation. Andrew eventually starts crying, which concerns Fred. Fred realizes that both he and Andrea need to work together to manage Andrew's behavior. If they don't, Sean could end up with similar behavioral issues as Andrew as he grows older.

### Reinforcement

Jo begins the reinforcement by reintroducing Andrea to The Good Eater technique and explaining how it works. As expected, Andrew finishes his dinner, and Jo also successfully convinces Andrew to play fairly with baby Sean.

Fred believes that Andrew is aggressive and thinks it will take a lot of discipline to make him understand that he is not the center of the world. Fred also believes that sometimes other children may want to do different things.

In a video clip, Andrea mentions that Andrew will soon improve his social skills while playing with his friends. Later, Fred is seen taking Andrew to the Naughty Spot, asking him to apologize for not listening to him.

At bedtime, Andrea instructs Jo to come to Andrew's room. In a short scene, Andrew can be heard snoring while Jo assists Andrea. After that, a scene is shown of Sean taking his first steps and the family celebrating this milestone. With Jo's work done, she has successfully helped her fifth American family, and she leaves the Westons. During the credits, the family is shown having fun, with Fred mimicking Andrew's mischievous behavior. All three - Fred, Andrea, and Andrew - share a hearty laugh.

**Family Members** Collapse
 Fred Weston
 Andrew Weston
 Sean Weston