On the show with the McGraw home videos, DP tod Robin, "Wow Mom, you're aging pretty well." She kind of shrugged off the comment while I almost fell off my couch laughing because it is so obvious that she has had some work done.

Yeah, and you can screw up their lives as much as you've screwed up your own. Don't forget that part.

I'm sorry, but didn't these parents instill in their daughters to have some goals besides "Oh, I need to get a boyfriend and to be pretty and popular?" Man, I feel lucky to have my parents.

My school system had a very good alternative school for pregnant and parenting teens wayyyyy back in the 70s and 80s and into today. I would much rather these girls be given the support and training they need rather than to be held up as some kind of sex is bad m'kay "cautionary tale" no doubt complete with a big red A sewn to her shirt. And I don't believe that these girls are all just sex-crazed sluts but they are looking for something to make them feel secure, wanted and not alone, not necessarily a baby, many of them don't think that far ahead, just human contact, because somewhere along the line they were missing this from their own families. However, when Alexandra was mouthing off about how she was going to raise the baby to be all that he could be blah blah blah I wanted to say just wait until we see him in 15 or 30 years and then say how it turned out. I also don't believe that Alex's mom isn't taking over a huge amount of baby care, way more than she lets on.

I find it laughable that Alex is giving other girls advice. It's ridiculous.

The mother of the girl whose boy friend hit her scared the crap out of me. She kept saying that she loved him and was such a sweet boy. Hell lady he hit your daughter! What is wrong with you? To think that this mother wanted her daughter to have the baby and get back with the boy friend is astounding. It wasn't until the great guru Dr P said he wouldn't let the boy near her daughter until a professional said it was okay that she saw the light. Where the hell was her sense of protecting her child. Some days I just don't get it.

WORD to all of you! Alex is in no place to give these girls advice, Nathan is what a few months old? Pfft. She's not the sharpest tool in the shed in the first place.

I found the behavior of that girl's mother appalling. She's encouraging this girl to stay in an abusive relationship. Things like this only get worse with time! If the mom thought it was ok for her daughter to stay, think of the kid! Babies die all the time because mothers were abused and hit/kicked in the stomach, not to mention she said it had gotten worse since they found out she was pregnant. Just amazing lady.

Hey percolata, thanks for saving my blood pressure. I read your post and still planned to watch the FUF family--can't miss a good trainwreck.

But after a few minutes of the FU-Happy Family I got sick of it and turned to enjoy Ellen.

It was Alexandra's simpering smiles and eye rolls as she gaily explained her fucking around with the creepy little twit who is the child's father that did it. And Mom was so happy--found her under the covers and didn't get a clue. Hahha, Dr. Phil isn't that funny now?

And Dad continues to be clueless also. As Marty talks I imagine cartoon ballloons above his head where he is fantasizing about the ladies in the audience includeing Mrs. God Dr. Phil--cuz you know he is--and then catch him trying to rejoin the conversation! The guy has to be on something. No one can be that stupid.

And DrPhil didn't help them. Everything is ok now. How much do you wanna bet Alex gets pregnant again when Katherine starts getting positive attention via school or horse trophies or whatever. Alex did not learn a damn thing, except that she can get her own way.

Yuck. DrPhil is failing this family.

After watching the FUF show today, I couldn't believe the way they were discussing teen pregnancy. Very lame... I agree with the rest of you; why on earth were they allowing Alex to give advice? I understand she has been through a lot, but IMO she seems to be loving it... a new school and baby, television star, etc. I am sure her story really helped that young woman in the audience...*ahem*. Also, I cannot understand Dr. Phils arguements on adoption...he seems to really cop out on whatever his ideals are. I mean, that young woman in the audience was an adopted child; I know she is confused, but it was a great opportunity to discuss the benefits of adoption as opposed to whatever they were ranting about.
Really, I dont know why I cant stop watching this show. It is really useless now, and I am starting to think I give better adive than the Dr. himself; I already know I am smarter than Mrs.Phil and sons...they proved that for me.

Also, just to add, the FUF must have a lot of money...are those barns/horse shed things on their property? If so, I dont think they and Alex are the prime subjects for a topic such as teen pregnancy considering she comes from a well off family which obviously financially supports her...and buys her fancy jewellery (fancy new necklace; blinding).

What makes this even more disgusting is the fact that the number one cause of death of pregnant women is murder by boyfriend/spouse/ex (usually the father of the child but often a new bf, as well). Think alleged killer Scott Peterson. It outranks all other potential causes of death by a lot.

I'm suprised DP isn't more up on this. That girl is in a incredibly dangerous situation, doubly so because the guy is abusive already. It's just that no one talks about this because everyone is "supposed to be" all fuzzy lovey-dovey concerning their upcoming child.

It's not only disgusting but incredibly irresponsible on DP and the mother's part.

I couldn't finish watching yesterday's show because it was too maddening. Alex's parents making jokes about the fact that she was unsupervised, caught in bed with her boyfriend, sneaking out of the house in revealing clothes? Marty piped up (proudly) at one point about how he "caught her once!" But instead of being angry at how they had failed to protect and guide their daughter, they were acting all "aw shucks, life is funny" about it.

Dr. Phil tried to tell them that it wasn't really funny (his response to Martin: "yeah, her boyfriend caught her dressed like that once, too" was priceless, but it went right over his head) but the overall message they are getting from Dr. Phil is sick. Get knocked up at 14, and you become a television star. People will feel sorry for you and buy you expensive presents. America will love you and find your baby adorable.

Tell that to a 14 year old unwed mother living in the projects, who can't afford childcare or diapers or food. The fact that Dr. Phil chose a wealthy family to focus on was a mistake: most teenage mothers don't have the resources that Alex has, and she is making it seem like having a baby at 14 is a fun and fulfilling experience.

ETA: The FUF is still blaming the boy and his family for Alex's mistake. They kept emphasizing yesterday that it was the "other parent" who wasn't watching Alex and her boyfriend, who wasn't supervising them, etc. Will Dr. Phil ever make these people accept responsibility for their own actions, rather than demonizing the other family?

Now I'll be seeing those bubbles, too, Tosia. (hee) His little smile always seems to be saying, "I'm such a cute, naughty widdle boy." Gag.

Edited to add a giant word to Maybelline for that last paragraph!

Gag. I hate when Junior Guru Jay is on with his brilliant Teen Weight Loss Challenge! It's uncomfortable to watch. How many times can he repeat his affirmations? "Are you ready? Are you ready to do this because you can do it!" It seems so...phoney.

I agree. I really don't see what you can put in a teen book that isn't in the adult book to benefit them more. I understand it in theory, but it just seems like Jay went and rearranged his dad's ideas. I do admit that I find Jay much more charming than Dr. Phil and more natural, but it still doesn't seem like he knows what he's doing even though he's done "reasearch". Sigh...I wish I had a rich father to ride the millionaire coattails of. Bah!

Not to seem insensitive, but the 6 foot 6 girl they chose was a giant! She completely dwarfed Jay and even DP himself! I was amazed.

I cannot wait to see her do martial arts! I bet she's going to be a killer. In fact, for the rest of the teen challenge, I'm going to call her "Killer."

The thing that bothered me was DP and Little J's badgering them about maintaining their weight loss after their goals (eg, I wanna look nice for the prom, bat mitzvah, etc.). When I was a teenager, I could barely plan past next week! Let them want to look nice for the prom, its not a bad goal.

What are you doing, Dave??? Nothing..Hal...now would you please open the pod bay doors?

Double post...

I am so glad that I checked this board to see if any other people were feeling the level of outrage that I am about the whole Nathan situation. Shame on Dr. Phil: he is glorifying and glamorizing teenage pregnancy. A MUCH stronger message needed to be delivered, with Alexandra as the example of what not to do with your life. Instead it's all shiny happy, new cribs and being stopped in the mall, "I'm a celebrity because I'm a dumb slut who didn't use birth control."

You know what? I had a boyfriend when I was 15 years old. My boyfriend was 15 also. Things got pretty hot and heavy sometimes, as teenagers will do. And, as the boyfriend was a healthy 15 year old, he begged me to have sex with him. He offered to wear a condom, even. I said No. I just wasn't willing to take that chance, getting pregnant at such a young age. I had much much more to do with my life than that.

percolata, I have to give you a special shout out. Your posts are just priceless. I didn't use any of your quotes because my post would have been three pages long.

One more thing: it was pretty cute when Nathan decided to take a leak all over the place as he was being changed. That is a cute kid. Babies crack my shit up.

I agree with all about Alex and family being the wrong family to use on this show (unwed teenage mom). The real question is: what happens when the camera leaves Alex and others for good...how will she adjust to no longer being 'a celebrity' of sorts and having to deal with just day-to-day life of being a single teenage mom? Same for Erin (who seems to love the limelight just as much)....that's when the real story will begin.

That said, Nathan is really a gorgeous baby....really cute.

I tape Dr. Phil except when they do the weight loss shows. They seem like infomercials to me. The FUF adult mother Erin seems to just want everybody to feel sorry for her. She is just going to make Marty suffer befor she divorces him but he thinks his butt makes such a fine hat that he doesn't know it. He might as well face the fact that his kids and his wife are going to blame him for everything. It doesn't matter if they are right or wrong, they will blame him. Alex got pregnant because he wasn't close to her even though they got Erin to admit that she was a cold distant b**ch who was more interested in how it would effect her standing in the town than the care of her daughter. They all need to stay together so their screwedupness (my word) does not contaminate the rest of the world.

Did anyone else laugh when Marty asked the pregnant girl in the audience where her father was? Glass houses, Marty... glass houses.

I totally agree that mom was clueless about the abusive boyfriend. And what was up with them not even realising adoption was an option until they saw the DP show? Maybe they should check their house for lead paint.

Oh, and GO NATHAN! Pee on your famewhore mom!!

Thanks Complicatedgirl, I used to watch DP because I liked him but these days I just watch because it's so much fun to dis him with you all. Now if we could all just get jobs in that school nursery, cuddling babies, watching TV and yacking all day ...

To all those people who were clamouring for MORE stupid ongoing sagas to keep track of, apparently Dr. Phil will be unveiling another train wreck family next week. This one has a slut mother having sex and babies with lots and lots of people, if the promos are to be believed (because you know, there always has to be innocent widdle babies involved on this show) and shocking secrets event the husband doesn't know. No. Really? Got a bit of a chuckle out of the parallelism thoguh---his first trainwreck family, it was all the man's fault. Now, he's got one where it's all the woman's fault. Heh.

I think it would have been better if Dr. Phil had just stuck with the one family for the year. He has too many things he has to devote shows to right now aside fromt he regular shows---the weight loss challenge, and the middie evrsion of it, and the yuppie pregnant people, and trainwreck family nunber one and now trainwreck family number 2---enough already. Stop me before I kill again.

I literally fast-forwarded through all of Monday's segment. Thomas is cute, blah blah blah, anyone wanna date him?

I think saying you want to lose weight for a specific event (like my wedding next year) is not a bad thing. I've needed to lose weight all my life but haven't gotten around to it yet. Now I have a deadline, which gives me a lot more motivation.

Oh my. The new FUF makes the old one look like the Cleaver family. There seems to be a recurring theme of a slut in every family. Heh. Let's hope DP can actually help this one, I'd have given up a long time ago if I was them. Yikes!

I don't find Thomas to be a great catch. A meh one at best if I was his age. He seems a little creepy actually.

Today's show, the one where they made the kid where garbage bag diapers, was hilarious. That'll teach him!

Yeah, I feel sorry for whoever "wins" Thomas because you know the DP show will force them to film all their dates.

The kid who peed on himself reminded me of a friend of the family. She potty-trained her kids by making them run around without clothes on. They haven't urinating on themselves, so they would run to the bathroom to avoid accidents.

Man, tap-dancing mom today totally didn't get it. At all. She's going to be homeless before you know it. $1800 a month on tap dancing? Dayim.

And I'm very happy for the IT guy who had an office on a corner and was handing out resumes. It's too bad, though, that every displaced and downsized worker can't have Tony the Recruiter helping them out free of charge (sorry, the cynic in me had to make a brief appearance). Not that the guy wasn't qualified or deserving-it's just that practically every day, I hear about more layoffs at a big local company, and it just sucks for the people.

I have an idea why there will be a new FUF. Marty will not take blame for what is going on and kicks Dr. Phil to the curb.

Obviously, the old FUF family isn't listening to DrShil, so that's why he needs a new one.

He failed Alexandra when she kept the baby.

Marty is still scum. He blatantly ignored DrShilJr.'s advice. He acts clueless when DP gives him advice. He belongs at the curb, aszxas, as does all the DrShil weight loss products--heading straight with the runoff to the sewer.

think about it: What advice has DrShill given this family that they have heeded?

Erin is nicer to Katherine--on camera. That's all I see.

You said it all, Tosia. The FUF is starting to really depress me, I've always liked to think that people can grow and change and they're proving me wrong.

Now the tap dancing mom? What a hoot! Does she think Mickey Rooney's going to call and say "Hey! Let's put on a show!"

I want to see that caveman child psychologist again. That was funny.

Heh, you mean the Kid Whisperer, DrCher?

You want caveman psychologist! Caveman psychologist! Caveman psychologist!

Hee. He tied right in with something I heard the other day about dog training. When the dog starts to bark we're supposed to bark with them and then bark softer. These things might work but are we ready to go that far? I tried it but I couldn't stop laughing.

[Erin "The Mom" Maivia]My heart? Is BLACK, Marty! My hear? Is as hard as STONE, Marty! I? Am PISSED OFF, Marty! You? Are lucky because by the red gods of Skeletor, the four horsemen of the apocalypse, Mutual of Omaha, the soul of the young baby we're corrupting, and the millions and by god MILLIONS of Erin's fans around the globe are chanting, and I mean CHANTING, Erin's name! By God, Marty, you are lucky because I? Am about to layeth the smacketh down on your infidelity comittin' ASS... if ya smell what the MOM is cooking![/Erin "The Mom" Maivia]

Everything Erin says sounds like some grotesque Jerry Springer/WWE promo. I'm sick of her and I want her off my TV. Unfortunately, Dr. Phil won't listen.

YOU want to wear the Spiderman shirt! YOU want to wear it! [/crazymom]

The caveman stuff cracks me up! Thanks guys!

I loved the previews for the upcoming shows that will air during sweeps. Phil pulled off a Valentine surprise for Robin this year that is (paraphrasing) the best ever. Then there is a shot of Robin in Botox surprise mode. I thought hmmm. This year? Do you guys in the US celebrate Valentines day in Jan?

As an after thought. Marty is an ass. Erin is also an ass.

I suspect the Dr. Phil Family episodes are being shown out of sequence. The most recent ones (Marty & Erin go to Germany; the teen pregnancy show) have featured Erin with slightly longer hair, no bangs. In today's Marty & Erin's Relationship ep, she had bangs again. I wonder if today's show was taped before the other ones they've shown recently?

It looks like Dr. Phil is supersizing his show for February (sweeps month). Instead of 300-pound chubbies, we'll have 600-pound fatties!! You want a dysfunctional family? Marty only had two affairs -- the new FUF mom had TONS of affairs, and even got pregnant by one of her lovers! And he's of a different race!! This week, we saw a woman who spent $100,000 on tap dancing lessons; next week, we'll meet a woman who spent $250,000 on tango lessons! OK, just kidding on the last one.

Marty's the biggest asshole ever. I swear he just needs to divorce Erin, move to another country far away from his children and grandchild, and never come out of the cave he lives in ever again. He has such an assface, who could ever trust this guy? Complete smarm!

Not saying Erin isn't the bitch from hell either because she is, but ugh, they're all a bunch of dipshits. May Jebus have mercy on you Nathan.

Amen, katymo. Ditto to all above.

I also love this caveman stuff. Is there any parent out there that won't feel like a complete dipwad talking like that? There already isn't enough time in a day, now you have to repeat yourself like that? Yeesh.

Has this society not grown past the point of blaming everything on women? I've seen very little mention of these babies' fathers at all, much less villification of them. I'm not referring to the abusive side of the one boyfriend - that's been covered - but there's no name-calling of the fathers just for having sex. You're supposed to not know everything when you're 15. You're allowed to make stupid mistakes. But when you do, and something like this happens, the consequences lie on both parties involved. Not just the mother. But as long as this society continues to make excuses for men, and beat up on women, women will continue to have to raise their children alone, and not just the teenage ones.

The ironic thing is, by letting these men off the hook, and allowing them to abandon the families they've helped to create, they also miss out on a lot of great stuff. I ended up alone with a baby when I was 25, and although it's been a struggle, I wouldn't trade the last nine years for anything. And her father will never know how great she is.

Heh. Is it wrong that I am totally looking forward to seeing the 600 pound fatties and the seriously FUF? Wha tkind of person does that make me?

Does anyone care at this point about Erin and Marty's marriage? At what point is Dr. Phil just going to throw up his hands and say, "y'all are even more f*cked up than we thought. Just get a divorce. Thanks for the ratings. And as a parting gift, how 'bout some lovely Pro Core fitness equipment?"

You guys have totally got to check out today's ep- I read the sypnopsis on drphil.com and it read like a Springer episode! Nosy mother-in-laws, crazy wives, and a grandma that looks like she has been rode hard and put up wet. The thing that got me today is on the first 2 segments, it looks like Dr. Phil did not get thru to them AT ALL. If anything, he just stirred the pot, with two of the guests (wife and bitch from hell mother in law) getting in a row right there.

Ugh Joyce. That lady needn't be giving any childrearing advice or making any judgements, look at the weak man she raised.

That man, run Tammy, run!

This reminded me so much of the "rabbit season" "duck season" thing from WB.

I have some serious doubts about this. I really believe that the parent should maintain a certain level here and remain parents.

And on that point LADreamr, I think any mom is doing a disservice to their daughters if they don't discuss birth control with them ...about two years before the moms think they'll need it. And add something like: yes, it isn't fair, but boys really don't take responsibility for it and no one thinks it will happen to them. Yes, there's a double standard. You should know now that life isn't fair.

WORD. It was obvious that he had been raised with no rules or boundaries. I mean, what's wrong with expecting the kids to take off their shoes, or eat their dinner? The grandparents actually accused her of emotional abuse! That woman needs to get the heck away from her spineless husband and those crazy-ass, controlling in laws.

Dr. Phil certainly seems to be failing to "get through" to people a lot lately. I guess he's just lost it.

We're talking about FIFTEEN, not five. I was 15 once, as were you. What, back then you didn't know that having unprotected sex with a boy could result in pregnancy? How hard is that to figure out? I knew it with my boyfriend back then. I had too much to do with my life than get knocked up.

(Sorry for the harsh language, but this attitude that "they are only teenagers" really gets to me. Bottom line: if you are that clueless, YOU. SHOULD. NOT. BE. HAVING. SEX.)



I don't agree with this, either. You can make stupid mistakes, as long as those mistakes don't involve an innocent little life that didn't ask to be born. Stupid mistakes at 15 should be "missed curfew" or "caught drinking" or "skipping school." Not bringing an innocent baby into a volatile situation that is sure to wind up a life of poverty. And welfare. That we all pay for.



I do wholeheartedly agree with this. The responsibility for birth control needs to be that of both parties. The boy most certainly could have availed himself of a condom.

However, didn't the FUFamily decide that Nathan's father wouldn't have anything to do with him?

Damn, that mother-in-law/daughter-in-law thing was brutal. I missed the lead-in; was it explained what kind of 'mistakes' were made that the DIL apologized for? I feel like we got maybe half the story, and it pisses me off when stuff is alluded to in the show and then not explained. Because if it's just about the fact that she makes the kids eat their dinner, then GEEZ! Back off! When I first saw her, I was so creeped out, I wanted to douse myself with holy water!

I was also irritated that he had the ladies up on stage when he should've been more of a hard-ass with the husband, like DrP was with Marty yesterday. He should've said "Look, just choose. You can either work on your marriage and deal with the fact that mom's not visiting anymore, or run home to mom and dad and get divorced. Period."

Today's show annoyed me to no end. I missed much of it, but the grandmother and the chick with her "back side hanging out" was just stupid and I thought Dr. Phil was wrong about it. Then again I'm not the Dr., but whatever. Just because somebody is in your life and helps you out doesn't give them the right to control your life, you're supposed to do it because you want to, not to rule over somebody. Ugh. It's great she was helping, but get over yourself grandma.

The mother-in-law was a bee-yotch!! I wanted to smack her when she was all, "This isn't about you; it's about the kids" ten seconds after she said that she needed the DIL to conform to her every need when she comes to visit. And who argues against having kids eating dinner?

Ugghh, I could not barely watch the crazy ass mother in law. This is one of those times that you wished that the guests actually read the web boards so they could get. a. clue. What amazes me constantly is when people go on national tv and people tell them that they are acting like a jackass- trained professionals, mind you- and they STILL insist on being right and continuing to act like a jackass! Joyce is a pitiful example for a human and a mother. And the daughter in law- who came off a little better- but still. If he leaves you 4 TIMES- guess what? Time #5- he comes back to changed locks and divorce papers. End of story.