PROVINICIAL – Do you believe in instilling good manners, values and work ethic into your teenage children? If you do, you may be interested in giving two British teens the opportunity for much-needed structure in their lives.
Twenty Twenty Television, based in London, is looking for role model families in Newfoundland to take part in the third series of a program about parenting.
“The show, ‘World’s Strictest Parents,’ which is in its third season, is basically all about trying to instil good family values and morals into our young teenagers as they are growing up into young adults,” said associate producer David Cheeseman.
“Although the word ‘strict’ is in the title, it’s just a punchy title, because what we are really looking for are quite loving parents, quite disciplined, who are funny but fair, are firm, and just want to make the teenagers better people and hopefully give them some insight into family values, morals and living a better life.”
In each one-hour episode, the two teens experience life with a family abroad, the country, the community and following the rules of their new “parents.” The teens stay for one week with parents who are willing to accommodate them and instil the morality and respect that they demand of their own children.
“The family has to be prepared to take in these two teenagers, not as just guests, but as a member of the family for the whole week,” said Mr. Cheeseman. “However, the teenagers can have quite an attitude and they will try to push their buttons. The parents have to have teenage children of their own or know what to expect.”
The teens are expected to attend school or church, engage in volunteer work or community activities, complete housework or help with the family business.
“It’s really that sense of work and bonding together that we want to capture and would be of benefit to the teenagers,” said Mr. Cheeseman.
Currently, the producers have cast seven teenagers for the episode.
“However, what we try to do is make sure the jigsaw puzzle is the best it can be, by making sure the right teenagers go to the right family,” said Mr. Cheeseman. “Right now, there is no guarantee that any of those seven teenagers would go to stay with a family in Newfoundland.”
The BBC has filmed the series all over the world, sending teenagers from the United Kingdom to live with families in Jamaica, India, United States and South Africa.
Mr. Cheeseman said the producers and crew of the show became interested in Newfoundland as a location after doing some research on Canada.
“I didn’t know too much about Newfoundland myself at first, but I did know that Newfoundland had a lot of family values and a really strong sense of community,” he said. “The heritage of Newfoundland is really amazing and the landscape is interesting and really beautiful. Plus, we feel that it may not be an obvious choice, as compared to other countries we have been to.”
Host families will be paid US$1,000 to cover expenses during the teens’ stay and the production team will work closely with the host family and school to make arrangements for filming.
Mr. Cheeseman said applying for the opportunity to be a part of the show is easy.
“Anyone interested in becoming a host family can visit our website at www.twentytwenty.tv and can apply online,” he said. “Or, if they prefer, they can e-mail a brief description of their family and all their contact information to davidcheeseman@twentytwenty.tv.”
The series will be filmed at the end of August 2010.
