Family First: Your Step-by-Step Plan
for Creating a Phenomenal Family
A guide for those who seek to raise their kids well and lead their family
with integrity and purpose.
Best practices in parenting, marriage, household finances, family communication…no
one taught us things like this in school. Sorely lacking in positive role
models and proper guidance, untold millions have forged their way into
these life circumstances unprepared or ill prepared. Enter Dr. Phil –
one of the world's foremost experts in the field of human functioning
– again with his finger on the pulse of the nation’s psychological
deficit areas: parenting and family life.
A primary focus of the 2003-2004 TV season was the war on weight, and
Dr. Phil engaged in a serious and admirable battle to help America get
real about obesity and weight loss. His books The Ultimate
Weight Solution (published in September 2003 and continuing its run
on the New York Times list at 34 weeks), The Ultimate
Weight Solution Food Guide and The Ultimate
Weight Solution Cookbook (also best sellers) are filled with sound
and constructive weight loss and weight
management advice. Helpful, comprehensive guides in their own right,
these books were also used for those who engaged in the show’s “Ultimate
Weight Loss Challenge” series. With Parenting 101, the series that
began in the middle of last season, Dr Phil ushered in his new focus on
how we raise our kids.
Family
First: Your Step-by-Step Plan for Creating a Phenomenal Family (Free
Press; September 14, 2004; ), promises to be an instant success, with
2.3 million copies comprising one of the largest first print runs for
a self-help book. This offering is the latest of the powerful prescriptions
from Dr. Phil, who has comfortably inhabited his space as a strong father
figure in the public eye. Ever the pragmatist, Dr. Phil gives real answers
to those needing advice they can use and a plan they can implement.
Dr. Phil infuses his book with optimism, and takes the lead by encouraging
others to incorporate his 5 Factors for Creating a Phenomenal Family so
they can get on a positive path. These factors provide direction to becoming
a family that lives with joy, hope, passion and energy. The 7 Tools for
Purposeful Parenting are designed to increase parents’ effectiveness
in fostering cooperation, kindness and competence in their children. True
to form, Dr. Phil gets at the concept of integrity, and emphasizes the
need to lead by example. The book contains practical exercises, scripts,
and assessments to help parents overcome their own fears, family legacies,
and communication problems that hinder the health and wellness potential
of their family.
In the 2004-2005 TV season, Dr. Phil promises to have a strong emphasis
on family values and practices, with the kickoff being a 2-hour CBS primetime
special called “Family First,” scheduled to air on September
15. In addition, every Thursday, the Dr. Phil Show will have an episode
of the new “Family Thursday” series. Parents, set your TiVos.
by Dr. Allison Conner, Clinical Director, Cognitive
Therapy Associates.
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