The Parental Guidance season two finale is upon us and included in the top four parenting sets vying to become Australia’s Best Parenting Style is Mark and Leanne Beetson, who are the mastheads of the ‘Team’ parenting style.
Leanne, a teacher’s aide, and Mark, an Aboriginal and social inclusion manager in construction, run their family of six children like a tight-knit footy team. With a deep-rooted love for rugby league, they instil the value of teamwork and unwavering support in their children.
Their parenting philosophy centres on being coaches, utilising repetition, respect, discipline and teamwork as the foundation of their style. By embracing their role as coaches and promoting communication during meals, Leanne and Mark create an environment that strengthens their family bonds.
Mediaweek interviewed Mark and Leanne before the final verdict was announced, with the couple revealing they didn’t know what to “expect” from the other parenting styles showcased on the show. As the styles were explained, they saw how it was interactive with their own lifestyle and incorporated it into their own.
“We have taken some of the Influencer’s style, educating ourselves and our children around social media as this is so prevalent in society with the next generation coming through,” they said.
“Also with regards to the Gentle parents, we understand being patient which we already had to an extent but are also appreciative of even more so in terms of our style and incorporating this.”
Mark’s parenting style is heavily influenced by his NRL legend father’s style
The family’s attraction to rugby league came from Mark’s deep-rooted history with the sport as his father was NRL legend Arthur Beetson. Beetson captained the inaugural State of Origin match in 1980 and was the first Indigenous Australian to captain Australia in any sport.
Mark expressed that there was some pressure on him growing up to live up to the expectation of being a good rugby league player, but his dad supported him no matter what, which influenced his parenting style immensely.
“What dad did teach me growing up was that you had to work hard for what you want and that nothing came for free,” he said. “He instilled these values plus also to have a lot of humility with everything that you do. His favourite saying to me was ‘It costs nothing to be friendly’ and he also told me, ‘No matter what you do, be inclusive and don’t leave people out’. I think that this has affected my parenting style massively.”
Leanne shared a similar sentiment about her own parents.
“My mum and dad instilled the great values in me that I have today. Their love for me was incomparable and unconditional. They were and still are to this day my superheroes and my idols and always will be,” she said.
Overall, the parents expressed that the experience of being on Parental Guidance gave them a lifetime of memories with their children.
“The experience has given us more education on the risks today with children and what they are exposed to. We have made more friends who are like-minded with parenting!”
The season finale of Parental Guidance premieres Tuesday, June 20 at 7:30 pm on Channel Nine and 9Now.
See also: Parental Guidances’ Ally Langdon’s approach to parenting in the digital age