Parenting expert Jo Frost, best known as Supernanny from the Channel 4 reality show, has identified accountability as the single trait she believes parents in 2026 are severely lacking. In a recent Instagram post, she described this year as a "troubling" time for parenting on a global level.
A Troubling Year for Parenting
Frost pointed to several recent events that prompted her assessment, including a child opening fire in a US school, teachers being assaulted, and bullying with fatal consequences. She argued that accountability must be taught, practised and reinforced by parents, asking where boundaries and standards are, and where the adults are prepared to say with conviction that certain behaviour is unacceptable.
She urged parents to stop passing responsibility to everybody else without examining what is happening under their own roofs. While acknowledging that some children face adverse challenges, disabilities and complex needs requiring empathetic understanding and specialist support, she stressed that understanding behaviour does not mean excusing harm.
Compassion and Consequences Can Coexist
Frost emphasised that compassion and consequences can coexist, and that children must learn that others have rights, that teachers deserve safety, and that bullying and damaging property are unacceptable. She also noted that when someone causes harm, they must take steps to put it right.
According to Frost, teaching honesty, empathy and respect does not require wealth, a degree or a perfect home or postcode. Instead, it requires presence, consistency, standards, values and follow-through, as well as modelling what is expected. She clarified that accountability is not about frightening or shaming children, but about helping them develop the character, conscience and courage to do the right thing even when nobody is watching.
A Stern Message Ahead of 2027
After declaring 2026 as a "s**t show", Frost shared a stern message for parents, urging them to change their ways in the last nine weeks of the year. She said there are just over nine weeks until 2027, and encouraged parents to use them to reset, uphold boundaries, strengthen relationships, have healthy rules in place that preserve and protect their family, and practise the values they want their children to carry into the world.
She concluded: "Parents, we can do better. Our children can do better. And tomorrow can be better than today. Like I've been saying for 40 years... It starts at home." Frost invited parents to share their thoughts, adding: "Don't be quiet I want to hear your thoughts, because we've got to talk about this. Jo x"
