Crash Test Mommy

- Season 2

(2005)

Twenty-something Jenn Rees lives in her parents' basement, while slinging drinks three evenings a week at a local bar. The lifestyle of this late-rising, vacation-taking Party Girl, is about to change, however, when she becomes the 48 hour 'crash test mommy' to her older sister Kim's two assertive little children: Bobby, five, and Ainsleigh, four. Both women have something to prove over the weekend. Kim says that Jenn insists on giving her parenting advice, especially about disciplining the kids better. Kim wants Jenn to appreciate the 24/7 work that goes into being a...

Parents Erinn and Mark Kredba enforce strict rules for their children, but the children's grandmother does not believe in rules for kids.

Lesley Seitz, full-time mom, devotes every minute of every day caring for her three children, Gillian, 7, Lewis, 3, and little Claudia, 19 months. Lesley's younger brother, Gwil Roberts, 35, single and sociable, is a capable, 'can do' kind of guy. Lesley and Gwil were raised in an incredibly strict household, but now have differing attitudes on raising kids. Bachelor Gwil believes that, because of her own upbringing, Lesley has chosen to raise her children in a more relaxed, flexible fashion. He thinks that if her kids were put on the straight and narrow, and given ...

Lisa Roberts is a single, working mom with two girls - Andee, twelve, and Hannah, six. She believes in a strict regimen for her daughters, including a healthy diet of non-processed foods, lots of exercise, and the sharing of responsibilities. In her mind, this holy trinity makes life at home run more smoothly. Her ex-boyfriend, Dan McDermid, loves spending time with Lisa's two daughters but thinks she's way too hard on them. His mantra is "anything goes" - let them eat and do what they want; they'll learn from their mistakes. Lisa wants Dan to understand that ...

Stacey Beeksma, of Langley. B.C., runs a hectic household with three kids under the age of six. Her sister-in-law, Sonia Beeksma, is a newlywed with plenty of time to focus on herself. Sonia wants to prove to her sister-in-law that having kids does not mean you have to lose all one's "me" time. After all, she trained her puppy to obey in a month; surely kids will be even easier, right? Stacey thinks Sonia needs a reality check and would like her to see that being a mom is not as simple as she seems to think!

Ali Enns leads a hectic life as mother to three young children, but her biggest headache is her builder husband, Carl. When he comes home at night, Carl can't understand why the house is a mess, with unwashed or unfolded laundry covering the furniture, and toys strewn all over the floors. "I love Ali, but she needs to pull up her socks," says Carl! He thinks a little better time management, plus training the kids to clean up after themselves, will remedy everything.

Transmission specialist Phil Materi doesn't understand why his wife, Clare, is too tired at the end of the day to give him some "loving". After parenting their two kids all day, as well as doing some part-time cake baking and being a part-time fitness instructor, Clare says she's exhausted, and resents her husband's demands for, ahem, 'servicing'. Phil thinks he can show Clare that it's possible to do the parenting tasks in a more organized, efficient way - leaving her with more energy for bedroom fun 'n games with him. "She thinks she works harder than she actually ...

North Vancouver's Penny Merletti is a part-time ER nurse, a job that probably helps her keep her cool while almost single-handedly gripping the parenting reins over her two active young children: Ally, age 7, and Andy, age 4. Her amiable husband, Alex, who runs the family construction business, was raised in a traditional home and thinks that cooking, cleaning, grocery and clothes shopping, and taking the kids to soccer are all 'women's work'. Besides, Alex thinks parenting is easy - all it takes, as in his business, is better organization, delegation of tasks and ...

Career-minded hospital administrator Brynn Fominoff is the youngest of 3 sisters and the only one without children. Newly-married Brynn is trying to decide whether to have kids, and doesn't understand why big sister Michaelyn Hoven finds parenting her own 3 young children such an all-consuming, major deal. If Brynn were their mother, even for 48 hours, she'd use her business smarts and time management skills to mold the kids to her own schedule. "Definitely doable", she says, confidently. But, as Brynn embarks on her weekend as crash test mommy, she's about to find ...

Danny Cabral and his wife Susie have a toddler son, and are considering having more children. What better way for Danny to decide than a 48-hour test drive as parent to big sister Suzanne St-Germain's energetic three kids? Danny thinks Suzanne caves way too often to the desires of Talia, 8, Kyra, 6, and Elijah, 5, and that a little more emphasis on the tough in tough love would make life a whole lot easier for his sister. He's confident that, with himself at the helm, things will be different. As for Suzanne, she fears Danny's headed for a reality check that might ...

Single mom Christine Kennedy holds down a full time job, attends school part-time, and still manages to be a 24/7 parent for her two daughters, Samantha, 12, and Cassidy, 9. She thinks she's doing the best she can. But Christine's younger sister, Keri Boughton, a deputy sheriff by profession, thinks her big sis' house is an unholy mess and could be kept a lot cleaner and shipshape if the girls chipped in more with the cleaning and maintenance. Each sister is frustrated by the other's unwillingness to understand or accept her point of view. Will their entrenched ...

Andrea Liske's mother, Markata Schober, doesn't think her daughter is teaching her two kids, Stephanie, 11, and Jordan, 8, the kind of life skills that will help them succeed as adults, and lets them all know it, to the misery of everyone involved. As for Andrea, she just wishes her Czech-Canadian mom would forget giving the constant lectures on "Old World" ways, and accept the children and Andrea's parenting style the way they are. Andrea thinks that Markata and her grandchildren would have a closer, more fun relationship if Markata would stop lecturing them and just...

Karen Weeks' life is a hurricane, as she juggles a full-time job with solo parenting four kids, two daughters and two sons ranging in age from 8 to 15. It's a noisy, seemingly chaotic household, and Karen's affluent little sister Dana Weeks is constantly telling Karen that a bit more effective communication would bring added peace and harmony to big sis's home. Mind you, even though Dana has two little children herself, she also has a crew of nannies and housekeepers helping her out. As Dana takes the reins as crash test mommy, we witness what happens when two worlds ...