Wait 'Til You Have Kids
Encyclopedia
Wait 'til You Have Kids!! was a game show
on the Family Channel
. It was hosted by Tom Parks and announced by Burton Richardson. The show, produced by Jay Wolpert
, premiered on September 30, 1996 and lasted until January 31, 1997 with two cycles of shows airing.
Three male/female couples (most of the time parents, but occasionally grandparents or couples without children) matched their own parenting styles with those of a professional parenting expert by answering questions dealing with a scenario involving a family's child or children in some way. The series was based on The Parent Game
, a Chuck Barris
-produced game that ran in syndication from 1972-1973; Parent creator Gary Jonke served as producer on Wait 'til You Have Kids.
Scenario: Your 17-year-old daughter gets grounded for her grades three days before prom. Do you...
After all couples had explained their choices, the expert revealed the answer she thought best matched the situation. Any couple whose answers matched the expert's received a set amount of points.
For the final question of the main game, the couples did not collaborate on an answer, but instead all six players chose an answer on their own. Each correct answer was worth 4 points, so 8 points were possible per couple for this question (for a possible grand total of 14 points for any couple at the end of the game).
After all four questions were played, the couple with the most points won the game and proceeded to a bonus round. If there was a tie, a toss-up question like the ones used in the bonus round itself (see below) was asked, with the winner advancing.
When the series returned on December 30 following a five-week hiatus, Winters was replaced by radio and TV talk show host Dr. Marilyn Kagan, who held actual credentials.
with seven windows and all the lights in the house turned out. Host Parks gave a mini-scenario (example: "Your two-year-old tries to eat crayons" or "Your 15-year-old wants to be a game show host"); the couple had to decide together whether the expert had determined that the scenario was considered a problem at that child's developmental stage, or OK (there was nothing necessarily harmful with the child doing that activity). The couple alternated turns, with the active player displaying his or her answer with a large, two-sided placard (one side is green and says "OK", and the other is red and says "Problem"). If the answer matched that of the expert, one of the windows was lit up. Each window was worth $100. Lighting all 7 windows within 60 seconds awarded the couple $1,000 cash and the grand prize (usually a trip, but occasionally a different prize. Near the very end of the run, a car was awarded).
Game show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
on the Family Channel
ABC Family
ABC Family, stylized as abc family, is an American television network, owned by ABC Family Worldwide Inc., a subsidiary of the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company...
. It was hosted by Tom Parks and announced by Burton Richardson. The show, produced by Jay Wolpert
Jay Wolpert
Jay Wolpert is an American television producer and screenwriter.His first television appearance came as a contestant on the original version of Jeopardy! in 1969. He competed in the Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions that year and won....
, premiered on September 30, 1996 and lasted until January 31, 1997 with two cycles of shows airing.
Three male/female couples (most of the time parents, but occasionally grandparents or couples without children) matched their own parenting styles with those of a professional parenting expert by answering questions dealing with a scenario involving a family's child or children in some way. The series was based on The Parent Game
The Parent Game
The Parent Game is an American game show that ran in syndication from 1972–1973. The show was hosted by Clark Race, a Los Angeles radio personality, with Johnny Jacobs was the announcer...
, a Chuck Barris
Chuck Barris
Charles Hirsch "Chuck" Barris is an American game show producer, film director and presenter best known for hosting The Gong Show and creating The Dating Game. Barris, a survivor of lung cancer, is also an author and claims to have worked for the CIA.-Early career:Barris was born in Oakland, New...
-produced game that ran in syndication from 1972-1973; Parent creator Gary Jonke served as producer on Wait 'til You Have Kids.
Main game
A scenario question was asked to the three couples, with three possible responses by the parents given, labeled A, B, and C. One couple at a time, the parents selected the response they would most likely use in that situation by placing a block labeled "A", "B", or "C" on the top of the score table in front of them, and explain their rationale for choosing that response. A question would be as follows:Scenario: Your 17-year-old daughter gets grounded for her grades three days before prom. Do you...
- A. Not let her go – no means no, she must stay home because she's grounded?
- B. Make an exception for prom because it's a once-in-a-lifetime event, but make it clear she's still grounded beyond that?
- C. Unground her altogether?
After all couples had explained their choices, the expert revealed the answer she thought best matched the situation. Any couple whose answers matched the expert's received a set amount of points.
- Question 1—1 point
- Question 2—2 points
- Question 3—3 points
For the final question of the main game, the couples did not collaborate on an answer, but instead all six players chose an answer on their own. Each correct answer was worth 4 points, so 8 points were possible per couple for this question (for a possible grand total of 14 points for any couple at the end of the game).
After all four questions were played, the couple with the most points won the game and proceeded to a bonus round. If there was a tie, a toss-up question like the ones used in the bonus round itself (see below) was asked, with the winner advancing.
Expert
The expert from September 30 to November 22 was Dr. Ellen Winters. Despite her title, a large portion of the answers she gave were called into question by both viewers and professionals; their questioning of Winters' credentials proved to ring true – it was reported that Winters was in fact not an actual parental expert.When the series returned on December 30 following a five-week hiatus, Winters was replaced by radio and TV talk show host Dr. Marilyn Kagan, who held actual credentials.
Bonus round
The couple was shown a graphic of a large houseHouse
A house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...
with seven windows and all the lights in the house turned out. Host Parks gave a mini-scenario (example: "Your two-year-old tries to eat crayons" or "Your 15-year-old wants to be a game show host"); the couple had to decide together whether the expert had determined that the scenario was considered a problem at that child's developmental stage, or OK (there was nothing necessarily harmful with the child doing that activity). The couple alternated turns, with the active player displaying his or her answer with a large, two-sided placard (one side is green and says "OK", and the other is red and says "Problem"). If the answer matched that of the expert, one of the windows was lit up. Each window was worth $100. Lighting all 7 windows within 60 seconds awarded the couple $1,000 cash and the grand prize (usually a trip, but occasionally a different prize. Near the very end of the run, a car was awarded).