Dr. Phil Launches Vicious Verbal Assault on TV'S "Nannies". [View All]

[A-Schwarzenegger]

Dr. Phil McGraw, renowned guru on all matters human, yesterday
launched an extraordinary tongue-lashing against his rivals in the
televised domestic expert business, the "nannies" and "supernannies"
of two other networks.

McGraw was in the middle of an interview with a troubled couple
whose eleven children had literally taken over their household,
refusing to obey any parental commands and commencing a sit-in
protest with other neighborhood children until their demands
were met, including as much candy and TV as they wanted. This
brought a chuckle from the audience but the parents appeared
to be serious. MSNBC researchers were working to determine if
their blog sources for the unnamed city in question could confirm
this story of the protesting children.

In any case, McGraw was clearly beside himself listening to
the parents' pitiable tale, even looking at himself several
times, but he had managed to hold his tongue until the mother
said that she had tried the "naughty corner" with her children
but that they wouldn't all fit in the corner on the "naughty rug."

"Didn't work, huh?" said McGraw. "The 'naughty corner' didn't work.
Where'd you hear about this 'naughty corner.'"

"On the TV," the father said. "The Nanny show."

"Oh, the Nanny show," said McGraw. "Well, then it must be a good
idea if you heard it on the Nanny show on TV. Well, let me tell
you, not only didn't it work, it is a technique that can scar a
child for life. Labeling a child as 'naughty' can lead to a
ruined sense of self-worth and self-esteem and result in an
adult individual who spends his time and energy pursuing tawdry
goals at best and criminal ones at worst. This is the kind of
travesty that can happen when you let a bunch of amateurs run
rampant on TV giving poor parents like you advice that you have
no idea how bad it is or what disasters can result. 'Naughty
corner, indeed.'"

The parents' jaws hung open in disbelief and the audience fell
silent in the face of McGraw's attack on the British nannies, who
had previously been seen as sweet and good-hearted helpers in
the households of America and the world, where their advice and
hope for beleaguered parents is translated into 34 languages and
dialects in 124 countries.

After the show, McGraw was questioned in the parking lot as he
tried to sign autographs and unlock the sticky door of his car.
"I tell it like it is," he said. "If the nannies don't like it,
they can sue me. They're a bunch of amateur English know-nothings
that are just devastating the self-esteem of millions of children
around the world with their atrocious labeling activities. Frankly,
they're a bunch of windbags and buttinskis who should stay in their
own damn country. And if they don't like iut, they know where to find me."

NBC, the network which carries the Dr. Phil show, had no comment.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8056360/