She counts Britney Spears and Hugh Jackman among her celebrity fans, she’s a familiar sight on the couches of Oprah, Letterman, and Leno and she’s a household name across the world — but to the children at the La Cima Elementary Charter School in Bedford-Stuyvesant who met her last month, she was that nice lady in jeans and sneakers with the cool British accent whose words flowed out of her mouth like a waterfall, and who couldn’t pass one of them up without giving him or her a hug.
The affection flowed faster than a tongue-lashing to a bunch of naughty 2-year-olds when celebrity nanny Jo Frost, the 39-year-old star of ABC’s reality show, “Supernanny,” breezed into the school on Gates Avenue near Malcolm X Boulevard to educate youngsters, parents and teachers about exercise-induced bronchospasm, a condition that usually occurs five to 15 minutes after physical exertion, and one which can be avoided through healthy activity.
“Handshake, high-five or hug?” asked Principal Andrea Zayas, already onto the childcare expert and best-selling author’s fondness for pressing flesh with strangers as if they were family.
“Oh, I’ll have a hug,” replied Frost with a burst of laughter, her eyes twinkling as she headed for the cafeteria to meet with third graders who were eating quietly, clearly on their best behavior for the no-nonsense nanny who isn’t afraid to give a troublesome tyke a frosty glare and her trademark warning: “Go and sit on the naughty step!”
Whizzing into the room like a tornado, the one-and-only Supernanny — who beat out hundreds of applicants for the uber title — brightly announced: “It went a little bit quiet in here whilst we were having our lunch.” She followed up her observation by making a beeline for the children and greeting them warmly with her outstretched hand. Frost proved to be a skillful navigator, drawing La Cima students into her fold with a simple question, “Hi, what’s your name?” No small task for someone who has never been married and reportedly lives with her father in London.
Over the next few hours, Supernanny spread the word about the little-known health condition which affects an estimated 30 million people in the United States, and which she herself was diagnosed with, in addition to asthma, at the age of 5. Exercise-induced bronchospasm can cause coughing, wheezing and chest pain or tightness, making it hard to breathe during or after exercise, which can to lead some sufferers to avoid exercise altogether.
“We need to be in control and manage this by being healthy which means being active,” Frost told her rapt audience, walking up to the children, kneeling to be at eye-level with them and looking to connect with them by gazing deeply into their faces and clasping their hands in hers.
“She had an essence about her, the kids were very excited,” said Vanessa Nieves, an Operations’ associate.
Nor was the nimble-footed nanny afraid to mix business with pleasure. In fact, she had planned on it judging from her casual togs. During a soccer game in the gym, Frost even channeled her inner David Beckham and got in some exercise while having a ball.
“Instead of staying by the side, she jumped right in!” marveled Jamie Meltzer, an administrator at the school, who added that the children melted in Frost’s presence.
“They naturally gravitated towards her,” she said.
Frost, who handed out apples and bottled water during her visit, urged youngsters to tell an adult if they thought they had a symptom and peppered her talk with a catchphrase that became a constant during her visit: “Hands up if you understand what I said.” Each time she asked, a wave of small arms would shoot up in the air like darts, their little fingers wriggling in anticipation.
It wasn’t all about the kids. Supernanny managed to reserve a few tips for mom and dad on how to raise well-balanced, emotionally healthy children: “Lead by example. Our children are always looking up to us. Be good role models.”
We’ll try our best, Nanny Jo — we don’t want to have to sit on that naughty step.
