Parenting never stops, so it’s lucky for all the new and veteran parents around the Capital Region, that Paula Gretzinger is here.
It deals with everything. Usually people think when you talk about parenting it’s only newborn to 2 or 3 years old, but it’s also teens and beyond, said Gretzinger.
Gretzinger, of Clifton Park, is referring to her new television show`a mix of reality series, lives guests and pre-produced stories`that premiered on the CW Sunday, Dec.5. `Parentology` is a survival guide to parenting, packed into a weekly half-hour show, and will touch on topics like nutrition, family profiles, activities, juggling kids and work, and anything else that can help make the busiest caretaker’s life a little easier.
`I wanted to have a show that targets everybody`moms, dads, grandparents. Some of my guests will be teens and every week I’ll profile a different family. I have experts, local doctors, local parenting experts, nutritionists and fitness experts,` said Gretzinger.
The first show, which aired at its weekly time of Sunday at 8:30 a.m., featured a stay at home mom with five kids, a stay at home dad with two kids and a single working mom. The three very different families discussed whether or not parenting was a difficult job.
`A single mom has a different perspective compared to a stay at home dad. He thought it was very difficult, and the single working mom said ‘No way,’` said Gretzinger.
Offering perspectives and a platform to share parenting tips, challenges and stories, is what `Parentology` is all about. Gretzinger said she hopes the show comes off as authentic and real, because after all, she’s no expert herself, she’s just a mom.
`The reaction has been very positive one of the things a parent said was that she really liked the show because it showed real parents and it’s not a show like ‘The Nanny’ that talks about making one family look bad,` said Gretzinger. `Mine is about giving tips to other parents in similar situations; it’s a feel good show because nobody really has the answers for parenting. You think you know everything but you don’t.`
Gretzinger got the idea to combine two things she’s a natural at`television broadcasts and raising her three kids`on a family trip to Florida. After that, she kept things to herself until she had everything figured out, so people wouldn’t think she was crazy, she said. To that end, she only just assembled a studio team about a month ago.
`I used to work two jobs and did so much, it was non stop in Florida with my family, we decided not to bring any cell phones or computers, just be disconnected from the world, and something hit me then where I said I want to do something to help other people,` said Gretzinger, who worked at many of the local news stations and is married to WRGB’s Jerry Gretzinger. `Talking to other parents, it seems like something parents don’t talk about [struggling] but I want parents to know it’s ok to tell someone you’re having a hard time, because so many other parents are out there in the same situation you are.`
Even though she put her career on hold to raise a family, she’s busy as ever, only this time everything revolves around putting family first.
`I have a schedule where my daughter Isabella is always with me, she’s my buddy. I bring her when I talk to businesses about sponsoring my show people joke around with her, call her my bodyguard,` said Gretzinger. `When my other kids (Nicole, 5, and Jerry, 7) get home from school at 3:30 p.m., I stop everything I’m doing and dedicate my time to them. My husband comes home and we have dinner with the kids, go through their days and ask how they went. After that, we play with them`we’re kind of dorky`we play hide and seek, duck duck goose, traditional games. Then he goes back to work, the kids go to bed and I’ll work on ‘Parentology’ some more.`
When she says `Parentology` is her baby, she means it. Gretzinger does everything for the show, except the shooting when she’s in studio; that task falls on the shoulders of her director, who volunteers his time to create the show. She takes special care when finding families to feature or experts to interview, she said.
`So many times you read magazines and these experts are giving you advice, but you look at their credentials and they’re not even parents. They’re just talking about books they read themselves and things that don’t really work,` said Gretzinger. `I make sure they have kids and if they have products out there, that they work.`
The show could do good beyond the television screen, too, if Gretzinger gets her way.
`I profiled this family they have seven kids and one of their daughters, 14, has a rare disease, she could die because there’s no cure for that. I felt bad because the dad said that money won’t help his daughter get better,` said Gretzinger. `I wanted to do something to make them feel good, so I called Great Escape, told them what I was doing and asked if they’d be able to give them something they gave them a stay at their indoor water park and when I presented the gift to them, it was so nice to see the smile in her face and her family’s faces. This is what I want this show to be.`
So far, Gretzinger is under contract to produce a 13 episode season, but her dream would be to do this forever and take it national.
`I’m trying to get it syndicated so I’m working with an agent. That’s the biggest goal, to be able to not just help people in the Capital Region but throughout the country,` said Gretzinger.
That’s one benefit that Gretzinger says local businesses should keep in mind when deciding whether they want to sponsor an episode. She’s still looking for sponsors, families and guests and said they can reach out to her by interacting on the show’s Facebook page. She also writes a blog where she tests out tips or activities with her own children at www.minivan-mamapaula.blogspot.com.
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