Archive for the ‘Check This Out’ Category
Your First Look at My Grandchild
For those of you who might be wondering if I’m finally getting over my giddiness about being a grandfather, I have just one thing to say: “I AM JUST GETTING STARTED! SHE IS AS CUTE AS A SPECKLED PUP!”
On Thursday’s show, the littlest McGraw made her first appearance on our stage. I am so toast! HA! I’m telling you now; I’m putty in her tiny hands! She smiled at me yesterday; I promise she did! When Avery Elizabeth McGraw is in the room — I can’t tell if she is giggling and cooing at me, or is it me at her? With Robin in the room, we are a chorus to be sure. She truly was put on earth to be a grandmother.
Teens under Pressure Update
I’m happy to share with you the following letter that the Dr. Phil show received from John Draper, Ph.D., the director of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, informing us that with the broadcast and re-broadcast of our show “Teens under Pressure,” substantially more callers sought crisis assistance from the Lifeline’s national network of more than 140 call centers. The day the show aired, the Lifeline had a 45 percent increase in calls over the previous week.
I’ve always said that we use this show as a platform to make a difference, and this news just reminds me of why we do this. We were very sensitive to the research-based requirements those in the media need to adhere to when reporting on teen suicide. The “contagion effect” presents unique challenges in responsibly having a much-needed discussion about this critical issue. Those guidelines and others that parents can use in talking with their own children can be found on DrPhil.com. (more…)
A PRISM Award for the "Dr. Phil" Show
I am so proud to say that a show we did earlier this year on OCD — obsessive-compulsive disorder — has won a prestigious PRISM Award from the Entertainment Industries Council. The council puts on a nationally-televised awards show recognizing the best and most accurate depictions of substance abuse and addiction, as well as mental health issues, in film, television, interactive media, music, DVD and comic book entertainment. PRISM Award submissions are put through a rigorous nomination review process, judged by members of the creative community and scientific experts for “entertainment value,” “accessibility of the message,” and “scientific accuracy.” After all the submissions were reviewed, our OCD show was recognized as the “Best Talk Show Episode.” (more…)
Avery Elizabeth McGraw
I’ve shaken a lot of hands over the years, but the most powerful handclasp I’ve ever experienced in my life took place a few days ago when Avery Elizabeth McGraw, my new granddaughter, wrapped her hand around my little finger.
When she was delivered, I quickly tweeted that this was going to be a game changer. I was way off the mark. This is such a life-changing event that I don’t even know where to start. No single emotion can describe what Robin and I are going through. There is, of course, the elation that Avery Elizabeth is a bright-eyed, bubbling baby, already so full of life. There is the immense sense of relief that neither she nor her mother experienced any complications during the delivery. There is also the overwhelming pride we feel looking at Jay and Erica, realizing they are now parents, about to start a whole new, wonderful phase of their lives.
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The Old Cohabitation Question
I was thinking the other day that when it comes to relationships, there’s a subject almost none of us talk about any more: living together before marriage. Remember when this used to be such a controversial topic, a source of huge anxiety for parents and even for many young couples falling in love? Remember when people talked about a couple “living in sin” and really meant it?
Well, today, few people barely raise an eyebrow when they hear about an unmarried couple cohabitating. And why should they? It’s estimated that up to 70 percent of couples in the United States live together before marrying. For most young adults, the idea of marrying without living together first is simply absurd. By living together, they say, they find out if they can share a bathroom every morning without wanting to kill each other. That must be for the good of the relationship, they insist. At the very least, it certainly can’t be bad, right? (more…)
