A BENDIGO couple has put their parenting style to the test as they take on the challenges of a new Channel 9 show.
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Same-sex pair Brett and Tony were born and bred in central Victoria and have used the city as a backdrop to raise their four nine-year-old sons.
And now they're showing of their skills on Parental Guidance after they were approached a few months ago.
"When the boys were born, we were featured on A Current Affair and world news because we had two sets of twins born via two surrogates at the same time," Tony said.
"So because of that, a casting director's husband was in India when we had the boys so she remembered us and asked us if we would be interested in being on the show."
Hosted by Ally Langdon and Australian parenting expert Dr Justin Coulson, Parental Guidance follows 10 sets of parents with very different parenting styles, putting their methods to the ultimate test.
From helicopter parents to tiger parents, free-range and routine parents to extreme authoritarians, they will all show how they raise their families while trying to influence everyone else that their parenting style is best.
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Tony said he and Brett used a routine parenting style with their boys Jagan, Ajay, Gyan and Taz.
"I quite enjoy having a good routine and think it really helps when you have four young boys in the house," he said.
"From the minute they get up to the moment they go to bed, we try our best to keep the boys in line, but also show the quad a lot of love and affection.
"I know I'm a bit of a control freak, but Brett and I think we've been able to find a happy medium between keeping a routine and making sure the boys know they're loved.
"We actually read the book Save our Sleep by Tizzy Hall and I would honestly say it saved our lives... it's like our bible."
Throughout the show, each family is set a challenge that puts their parenting style to the test.
Whether it's getting the children to navigate in a car without any assistance or putting them face-to-face with a stranger, how their parenting style stands against each challenge is put under a microscope when all parents meet to discuss with Ms Langdon and Dr Coulson.
"We knew there were a whole range of challenges that would be fun for the boys, so that was one of the reasons we agreed to take part on the show," Brett said.
"At the same time, it was interesting to see how each family dealt with each situation and while something like the stranger danger challenge was confronting and eye-opening, I think it was an opportunity we couldn't pass up."
Once these challenges are completed, four parent groups are voted to progress to the next stage of the search, The Crowded House, where they move in together with their families, to prove their parenting style can work on each other's children.
Each couple have 24 hours to rule the roost in their own parenting style and the top two most effective parent pairs are chosen to go head-to-head in the final challenge.
In the finale, parenting is stripped bare as the top two take on a final family wilderness challenge where they take everything they've learned and apply it to the ultimate test of parenting.
But Brett and Tony said they strive to inspire young same-sex couples who may be thinking of having children.
"Rainbow families or LGBTIQ+ parents are very much under represented in Australian media so we just wanted to be visible," Tony said.
"We want to support awareness and show the Australian public that two guys can do it just as well as any other couple.
"It was important for us to tell our story and let young same-sex couples know that even though it may be difficult to conceive, it can be done."
You can catch the season finale of Parental Guidance on Tuesday night from 7.30pm on channel nine.
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