Parental Guidance is an Australian parenting reality series hosted by Ally Langdon and parenting expert Dr Justin Coulson, which premiered on the Nine Network on 1 November 2021.
Format The series features several different families each having different parenting styles. In each episode, the participants compete in several parenting challenges to determine which is the best parenting style.
In the first season of the series, there are ten families who have different styles. In the second season, there are 12 parents, which go through the parenting challenges in groups of 4.
Production The series is produced by Eureka Productions and was created by Chris Culvenor. It was originally announced at Nine Entertainment's 2021 upfront on 16 September 2020 to be titled The Parent Jury with Supernanny host Jo Frost. However, due to restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, Frost was unable to travel for filming and the series proceeded without her, with the series being retitled to Parental Guidance.
Auditions for a second season were opened in January 2022, which was renewed in September 2022 and debuted on 5 June 2023. It aired throughout June 2023.
Auditions for a third season in 2025 were opened in October 2024, after it was announced in September 2023 that the series would possibly return for a third season in 2024. The third season will premiere on 30 June 2025 – however, with fewer episodes.
Series details Season Episodes No. of families Originally aired Season premiere Season finale 9 10 7 12 4 8
Families Season 1 Family No. of children Parenting style Hometown Group Andrew & Miriam 3 Strict NSW A Liadhan & Richard 5 Nature SA Lara & Andrew 2 Attachment Victoria Brett & Tony 4 Routine Yann & Donna 1 French NSW Kevin & Debbie 2 Tiger B Deb 6 Home School Queensland Rachel & Sam 2 Helicopter Penny & Daniel 3 Free Range NSW Rob & Sioux 2 Disciplined SA
Season 2 Family No. of children Parenting style Hometown Amy & John 3 Road school parenting Echuca Kat & Jonathon 2 Influencer parenting Gold Coast Larissa & Marcus 4 Gentle parenting Adelaide Sammy & Jason Lighthouse parenting Gold Coast Tency & David 3 Outback parenting Mareeba Kat 2 Honest parenting Adelaide Kajal & Deepak Spiritual parenting Sydney Sarah & Shane 3 Stage parenting Mark & Leanne 6 Team parenting Philippa & Chris 3 Slow style parenting Cairns Kim & Nick 1 American parenting Brisbane Melody & Michael 3 Unstructured parenting
Season 3 Family No. of children Parenting style Hometown Hassan & Amanda 5 Hard Way Sydney Nathan & Joanne 2 Traditional Gold Coast John & Courtney 3 Pro-tech Newcastle Marc & Amy 3 Active Gold Coast Mark & Tammy 4 Up Front Melbourne Nick & Sofia 2 Positivity Wollongong Sean & Elvie 2 Authoritative Perth Josh & Cassie 5 Life School Full Time Caravanners
International versions Country Local name Network Presenter(s) Airdate The Parent Test American Broadcasting Company Ali WentworthAdolph Brown 15 December 2022
Ratings Season 1 (2021)
No. in series No. in season Original airdate Viewers 1 1 1 November 2021 629,000 2 2 2 November 2021 547,000 3 3 3 November 2021 536,000 4 4 8 November 2021 604,000 5 5 9 November 2021 520,000 6 6 10 November 2021 517,000 7 7 14 November 2021 487,000 8 8 15 November 2021 481,000 9 9 16 November 2021 478,000
Season 2 (2023) No. in series No. in season Original airdate Viewers 10 1 5 June 2023 511,000 11 2 6 June 2023 433,000 12 3 12 June 2023 445,000 13 4 13 June 2023 420,000 14 5 18 June 2023 375,000 15 6 19 June 2023 398,000 16 7 20 June 2023 411,000
Season 3 (2025) No. in series No. in season Episode title Original airdate Viewers 17 1 "Screen Time" 30 June 2025 729,000 18 2 "Peer Pressure" 7 July 2025 671,000 19 3 "Body Positivity" 14 July 2025 640,000 20 4 "Mental Health" 21 July 2025 633,000
Reception Bridget McManus of The Age said, "Despite the conflict and the competition format, Coulson insists Parental Guidance is not designed to judge or shame."
References
External links