Visiting the out-of-control teen after the show, Monique Butterworth finds her untamed and unrepentant.
In her classroom, high school teacher Michelle Tayler has no trouble getting respect from her students. But her 17-year-old daughterMemphis Fitzgeraldis another story.
Sick of Memphis’s drinking, smoking and out-of-control behaviour, the Queensland mum shipped off her daughter to live with a strict Singaporean family for Seven’s reality seriesWorld’s Strictest Parents.
But it didn’t help. “Memphis didn’t change. If anything her bad behaviour was exaggerated,” says Michelle, 47. “I think it was so strict over there that she came back and went wild.”
When Michelle signed Memphis up for the show, she was at her wits’ end. “I thought it might be good to throw her in and give her a different way to look at things,” she says.
Memphis was taken in by the Chuas’, who believe in “authoritative parenting”. “For me, no means no! That’s it,” says husband Meng.
Daughters Esse and Ada are straight-A students and spend “at least three hours a day on homework,” says mum Ean.
The Chua girls eat dinner with their parents every night. Boyfriends are forbidden, and drinking and smoking are also “a big no-no,” Meng says. “And the consequences are severe.”
Not surprisingly, Memphis didn’t like the Chuas’ rules.
“The family was very, very different. Their way of living shocked me. Their life sucks.”
Do you have any tips for Memphis’ parents on dealing with uncontrollable children? Leave your comments below.
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