The Parent Test
The Parent Test
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this TV show.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that The Parent Test is a reality competition show looking to crown America's most effective style of parenting. All the parents featured are clearly intentional about their parenting choices and are trying to do their best for their children. They're also open to discussion about how they might be able to do better, but some of the discussions aren't appropriate for younger viewers.
Some of the parents speak about their past trauma, including being bullied and spanked. One of the parenting challenges involves a man trying to lure children away from safety. Parents are sometimes shown criticizing their children, and children are sometimes distressed as parents put pressure on them to do things they don't want to do. A mother mentions yelling at her daughter. A couple tells a story of their daughter being stillborn and a picture is shown of their other children around her tombstone. A child is shown slapping his father across the face after asking for permission during a "yes day." Parents talk about spanking -- a dad speaks about doing it once and then feeling intense guilt and never doing it again.
What's the Story?
THE PARENT TEST tries to answer the question, is there one right way to parent? Twelve families from across the U.S., each representing a specific parenting style, judge each other in parenting challenges with the guidance of parenting expert Dr. Adolph Brown, culminating in a grand finale that will crown America's most effective parenting style.
Is It Any Good?
It's no secret Americans like to compete over just about anything, but competing to see who has the most effective parenting style is a new one. The basic premise of The Parent Test -- that you can use families to objectively measure parenting styles -- is faulty for several reasons. Most glaringly, it completely ignores the classic question of nature versus nurture. In pitting families representing different parenting styles against one another, the format fails to take into account that the temperaments and personalities of the kids in each family are different, regardless of how they're parented. It also fails to acknowledge that many of these parenting styles have points of intersection, with few families adhering strictly to just one. This is actually demonstrated again and again as the different types of parents praise each other for valuing the same things. They're also shown having constructive discussions about their opposing parenting styles and learning from each other. Which, actually, is one of the unexpected reasons this show is worth watching.
Instead of the snarky competitiveness we've come to expect from reality TV, The Parent Test has a general tone of openness, with participants consistently demonstrating a willingness to change. Parents watching will also do a lot of reflecting on their own parenting styles. Partners who are parenting together may especially benefit in using the show as a jumping-off point for parenting discussions. Watching with older kids may give them perspective on the difficulty of making everyday parenting decisions. Most importantly, it can help start some meaningful conversations between kids and parents about how parenting works in their family and why. If this sounds a little too heavy for weeknight viewing, don't worry, host, parent, and comedy veteran Ali Wentworth brings lots of levity and laughs to soften the eye-opening revelations.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what kind of parenting style they think is most often used at home. Does everyone agree? Discuss why that's the parenting style your family uses. What are the pros and cons? Is there a different parenting style that the kids think might work better?
Did the kids featured on this show get to decide whether they wanted to participate? Do you think that's fair? Why or why not?
How are the parents on this show communicating in a respectful way? Do they listen to others that have different opinions than they do? How can you tell?
TV Details
- Premiere date: December 15, 2022
- Cast: Ali Wentworth
- Network: ABC
- Genre: Reality TV
- Character Strengths: Communication
- TV rating: NR
- Last updated: January 23, 2023
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