Dr. Phil

Parenting Disaster: Extreme Excuses

Darcy says that her sister, Jennifer’s, home is in a state of complete chaos. She says Jennifer and her husband, Ralph, have no rules, their kitchen is bare, the electricity is often shut off, and they put their needs ahead of those of their four children -- who are acting out as a result. Darcy says her nephews, 8 and 10, smoke marijuana, play with weapons and recently started a local forest fire — and that the 10-year-old once wrote a note asking for someone to kill him in his sleep. She says her 12-year-old niece was recently called to truancy court, and her 16-year-old niece is having unprotected sex in the home with her older, live-in boyfriend. Ralph concedes that he’s struggling to provide for his family financially and has made mistakes as a parent but says Jennifer is to blame, claiming she’s checked out as a mother. Jennifer admits she’s detached from her family, struggles with depression and has trouble maintaining the household.