Crash Test MommySezon 4
A reality television series that throws would-be moms into a wild 48 hour test drive of their parenting skills. Mom's greatest critics get a chance to walk it like they talk it.
13 Episodes
- Amanda Barton
E1Amanda BartonTara Swim was neglected as a child and vowed she'd do better for her own two daughters, Tiana, 7, and Kiyra, 2. If she could give it, they would get all her love and attention 24/7, declares Tara. But she worries about her longtime best friend, Amanda Barton, who is considering starting her own family soon. Amanda had an English upbringing - all stiff upper lip and little outward emotion. As Amanda embarks on a 48-hour adventure as Crash Test Mommy to Tara's girls, Mom wonders if her friend will be able to show the love, affection and warmth she thinks are so important to parenting. Amanda thinks Tara is overcompensating for her own unhappy childhood and therefore spoils the kids, who, as a result, lack discipline. And, as an insulin-dependent diabetic, Amanda worries about whether her medical condition will allow her to cope with the stresses of parenthood. But she loves Tara and wants to prove to her friend, and to herself, that she can do a good job as a mom. There is a lot riding on the next two days for both women, as Amanda needs to prove to herself she has the stamina for motherhood, and Tara needs to see that Amanda is capable of the nurturing and empathizing with her kids that Tara so desperately feels is paramount to good parenting. - Joel Laforet
E2Joel LaforetJennifer Laforet just wants a little respect from her old style male chauvinist husband, husband, Joel. The busy mother of two young children, Kalub, 5, and Lavender, 4, juggles full-time parenting with running a yoga business, where she teaches 8-10 classes a week. Joel, however, is never satisfied with the job she does as a mom, and is full of criticism about her supposed shortcomings and a ton of advice on how she could improve. He believes that, compared to his own job as a construction foreman, this parenting business is a breeze. But Joel's high expectations are stressing Jen out big time, and this marriage may crash and burn if husband and wife don't come to a better and happier understanding, one in which Jen feels respected and appreciated, rather than belittled and demeaned. Along with learning to respect the job his wife is doing, Joel also needs himself to see the light, and get beyond his 'accomplish and conquer' warrior philosophy to discover the essence of good parenting. Will the next 48 hours open Joel's eyes to his wife's qualities as a mom? And will he be able to learn that parenting isn't just about keeping the house clean and efficient scheduling, but about relaxing, enjoying and making what Jen calls 'a heart connection' with his kids and their friends? - Chris BurgessE3
Chris BurgessCorinne Burgess is a desperate housewife nearing her breaking point. With four kids ranging in age from 12 to 3, two dogs, and a cat, her life is in overdrive. Yet her carpenter husband, Chris, seems oddly uninvolved in his family's affairs, leaving everything for Corinne to do unless she nags him to death. Chris is a traditionalist, who believes the man brings home the bacon while leaving the parenting to the woman. As a result, Corinne often feels like a single mom. She's just about had it up to here and is ready to show Chris the door unless he sees the light, mends his ways, and participates more fully with the kids and in the work around the house. Nominating Chris as crash test mommy for 48 hours is her last ditch attempt to salvage the marriage. She wants Chris to build bridges with his kids, especially his adolescent stepson, Tyler, who needs a father to be there for him at this tricky stage of life. - Mark Thompson
E4Mark ThompsonKaren Jorgenson is a former recruiting executive who gave up her decade-long corporate career a year ago to be a full-time stay-at-home mom to her three young children, Ethan, 7, Claire, 5, and Rachel, 3. Her lifelong bachelor brother, Mark Thompson, still lives in that career world, where he's a criminal and immigration lawyer, and Karen's life change has created a chasm between brother and sister. Mark thinks his sister left her common sense back in the boardroom and that her life is actually pretty easy: all the kids need is a little law and order. As Mark begins his 48-hour stint as crash test mommy, sister Karen's hopes for the weekend are different. She feels Mark, already reserved by nature, is in terra incognita when it comes to parenting, and has kept himself aloof and emotionally removed from her kids. She wants him to put down his newspaper, make more of an effort and develop a heartfelt connection with the kids, becoming a real, loving uncle to them...and becoming closer to her in the process. But being crash test mommy is a seismic shock for the bachelor who doesn't cook and hasn't a clue about kids. Over the next 48 hours, will the jacket-and-tie attorney survive his close encounter with three active small children? What will he do when his adult modus operandi of reason, logic and compromise go unheeded by the youngsters? Will he learn to relate to the kids on their own level and be capable of showing them some genuine love and affection, or is he destined to remain an emotionally unavailable stranger to them? And, finally, will the experience help restore mutual respect between brother and sister, and bring them closer together? - Trina AllenE5
Trina AllenTrina Allen is the fun aunt to her sister Sherri's two hyperactive sons, Tristin, 6, and Darian, 5. Sherri's learned to pick her battles with "the little hellions", but Trina just thinks Sherri is way too soft on them. She's full of suggestions regarding proper parenting and is certain she could do better. As Crash Test Mommy Trina's going to get her chance to practice what she preaches, but the stakes go way higher than that. Three years ago, Sherri was diagnosed with the debilitating disease Multiple Sclerosis. Despite being close sisters who talk daily and see each other a couple of times a week, Trina has been in constant denial about Sherri's condition, refusing to acknowledge Sherri's illness or the limitations it may impose on her ability to look after her kids, both now and in future. Trina's denial about such an important situation is 'the elephant in the room', and is creating a chasm between the two sisters. - Adam Billingsley
E6Adam BillingsleyTwenty-seven year-old former model Shanna Blanchard is exhausted and worried. Exhausted from doing nearly all the parenting of her three kids, two by a former marriage and one by her twenty-six year-old fiancé Adam Billingsley; and worried because she's pregnant with a fourth child and doesn't think she can cope with both the kids and the new baby unless Adam gets more involved in helping out with the parenting responsibilities. Frustrated from numerous fruitless discussions with him about helping out at home, and desperate, she's drawn a line in the sand. Removing the engagement ring he gave her, she has called off their planned wedding unless he can prove to her that he's taking the parenting of their growing family seriously. Shanna convinces Adam, a demolitions expert on road construction crews, to be Crash Test Mommy for the next 48 hours in order to understand, first-hand, the demands and stresses she's under, in hopes that he'll finally realize he has to pitch in more. Being the solo parent of Shelbey, 7, Katanna, 5 and Indica, 15 months, is sure to be a rough two-day ride for this 'me first' addict of sugar, nicotine and online poker. As Adam dons the 26-pound "sympathy belly" he'll wear for the next two days, the burning question is: will the explosives expert 'get it' and show respect for his fiancée and kids by showing he can be a more active and responsible parent, or will he let his family life blow up by doing and learning nothing from the Crash Test Mommy experience? - Coralee Hewlett
E7Coralee HewlettCoralee Hewlett and her big sister Jodi Adrian are polar opposites who have been growing even further apart for some time. Neither can relate to the other's lifestyle - something they'd like to change. Caring for her four small children twenty-four hours a day is exhausting and stressful, but Jodi also finds it hugely fulfilling. She wishes her sister Coralee would respect how tough it is to be mom to four little ones but also see how rewarding it is. But Coralee, a childless, single businesswoman who is able to indulge herself and her own interests, feels her big sister's life is boring, thinks parenting isn't that tough, and theorizes that a mom should be able to mold the kids so they fit into the parent's life rather than the other way around. Accepting the challenge to be crash test mommy for the next 48 hours, Coralee aims to show Jodi that it's possible to be a good parent and still be able to indulge her own adult activities, like shopping for shoes and dining out with friends. Will Coralee's theories of parenting prevail in the 48-hour real-life encounter with four demanding children, or perish on the shoals of reality? And will the experiences of this weekend reinforce the sisters' two solitudes, or bring them closer together? - Christie Lochan
E8Christie LochanJoann Narin confesses she has her hands full parenting her three active young children: Joshua, 5, Allysa, 3, and baby Aleana, 4 months. She'd like her big sister Christy Lokan's support, and a little respect for the job she does on the home front. But Christie, a single mother with one pre-adolescent child, thinks Joann is a whiner and constantly criticizes her little sister for not doing things better...that is, Christie's way. Older is wiser, says Christie: she did the parenting thing first, so why can't Joann just imitate her methods? As she takes over as crash test mommy of her little sister's brood for the next 48 hours, Christie intends to prove the superiority of her own firm parenting skills to Joann. Though she talks a good game, maybe Christie is under the impression that parenting is a snap because she herself still lives at home, with her own middle-aged mother doing all the household cooking and cleaning! What will transpire as Sergeant-Major Christie encounters 24/7 parenting of three kids, with no grandma pitching in on all the chores? Will Christie, as she herself predicts, sail through the next two days with flying colours, or will she, instead, find herself overwhelmed by the amount of work and stress involved? More importantly, will the crash test mommy experience help the two sisters become closer and more respectful of each other? - Dustin McKamey
E9Dustin McKameyKathleen McKamey's life is chaos. Holding down a part-time job, while parenting three active boys ranging in age from six to twelve, will do that to you. And especially when her husband, Dustin, is more like a fourth child than a partner sharing the parenting responsibilities. Kathleen desperately needs Dustin to turn off the video games when he gets home from his long hours working on a tugboat to lend her a hand with the chores and spend more quality time with his boys. The future of their marriage and of their family depends on Dustin understanding this and changing his ways. Dustin thinks Kathleen is exaggerating how difficult it is to parent the kids and his wife should just try to mellow out about it. He agrees to be crash test mommy to prove that, with dad at the ship's wheel, this weekend's parenting will be a cakewalk. For her part, Kathleen fears it'll be a gong show...but desperately hopes that, from it, Dustin will get a crash course in maturity and grow up. As he embarks on his 48 hour journey in his wife's shoes, he's about to discover just how much of a cakewalk motherhood can be. - Dean Clark
E10Dean ClarkDean Clark can't understand why wife Erin can't maintain a spotless house and have the family dinner on the table when he gets home every day at 5:30 p.m. After all, the wives of all the other guys he works with at the auto-body shop have their husbands' meal on the table ready for them, just like Dean's mom used to do. Erin is frustrated with Dean's archaic expectations for a wife and that he doesn't realize how much work is involved looking after five kids all day; their own two young children plus the three other little ones she cares for as part of her home daycare business. All she wants is a little understanding, appreciation, and increased help on the home front. Dean thinks Erin could improve with better organization - resulting in a more successful daycare business...and food on the table promptly at 5:30 p.m.! Agreeing to be crash test mommy for the next 48 hours, Dean will get a chance to put his 'clean as you go' theory into practice. But will he be able to juggle running a tight ship while realizing the bigger picture at stake: quality time with all five kids? Will he realize that some things are more important than an immaculate house and that, by the time he comes home, he and Erin both still have plenty of relationship work to do? - Ivania Marin
E11Ivania MarinRuby Marin knows now that she had kids too young. A teen rebel, pregnant at 18, Ruby now finds herself, at 22, a single mom with a son, Dylan 4, and a daughter, Kelly, 3. Ruby is often overwhelmed by the responsibility of parenting Dylan and Kelly entirely on her own. It doesn't help that her big sister Ivania's idea of help is to constantly be on Ruby's case for her perceived shortcomings as a mom. Ivania, a successful legal aide, feels Ruby is underachieving: too easily giving up on training her kids and not showing enough patience or persistence. Why, for instance, aren't the kids toilet trained yet?, says Ivania? She's sure she can teach Ruby a thing or two. After all, she says, "anybody can parent ...it's not rocket science." As Ivania assumes the mantle of crash test mommy for the next 48 hours, both sisters are going to need to learn, and change, if their relationship is going to improve. Can Ivania learn to show a little more compassion to her baby sister, and understand that deeds speak louder than words when it comes to helping out? And will Ruby realize she needs to stop bemoaning her situation and get her ass into gear by taking concrete steps to improve her life, both for herself and for the sake of her kids? There's a lot at stake for mom, sister and kids in the next two days. Question is, are they up to the task? - Rachel Nathe
E12Rachel NatheSingle mom Lydia Nordin has her hands full. Along with her job, she's the sole caregiver for two young children, who are hearing and visually challenged. Altogether, the responsibility and pressure of Lydia's situation occasionally overwhelms her. Meanwhile, Lydia's young sister, Rachel Nathe, lives right downstairs in the basement of Lydia's home but, rather than helping Lydia out, merely complains about the noise the kids make. The rebellious, fashion forward Rachel, a buff motorcycle-riding fitness freak and aspiring actress, finds the kids irritating and doesn't involve herself in the kids' lives or even in just being there when sister Lydia needs a shoulder to lean, or cry, on. As Rachel's 48-hour experiment as crash test mommy begins, both sisters are hoping for big changes. Rachel just wants to prove she can shepherd Lydia's kids through the next two days and get everything done, but Lydia has more ambitious hopes. Can Rachel show she's capable of putting aside her own needs and make getting to know her young nephew and niece her priority. It's called growing up, and it would mean a lot to the two kids, not to mention what it would mean to her overworked sister, Lydia. - Michelle Wood
E13Michelle WoodJennifer Anderson loves her busy life with her four lively children, all under the age of seven. For 'Jen', it's noisy, hectic and unpredictable, but also fun-filled and exciting. Too noisy and too hectic, according to her more sedate, older sister, Michelle Wood, herself the mother of one well-behaved 15 year-old daughter. Michelle holds to the traditional 'children should be seen and not heard' school of parenting. She thinks that if Jen only emulated her über-organized big sis, the four little animals in the Anderson zoo would get tamed, leaving more 'me' time for Jen, including more time the two sisters could spend together. Then maybe they could then recapture the closeness and intimacy they shared before Jen became a baby factory. As for Jen, she wishes her sister could just loosen up and accept the way she parents instead of trying to change her and the kids. Maybe Michelle could even suck up her objections to her nieces' decibel levels and actually get to know them and enjoy their company. As Michelle embarks on her 48-hour stint as crash test mommy to Jen's brood, the question is: will Michelle's methods tame the children or will they rise up and mutiny? More important, will the sisters find some middle ground between their two diametrically opposed styles of parenting, or will that problem continue to drive them further apart?