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Lights, Camera, Action: Backstage at the Dr. Phil Show
Filed under: Celeb Parents, Media, Celeb News & Interviews
ParentDish's Amy Hatch discusses moms' leisure time with Dr. Phil. Photo courtesy of Amy Hatch.
When the producers of the Dr. Phil Show called and asked if I would come and talk to them about moms and leisure time, it was, as they say, an offer I couldn't refuse.
I wrote a piece about a researcher who said that moms have 30 hours of free time a week, and it sure did get readers' knickers in a twist. Moms said the good Dr. John Robinson, who conducted the time-use study revealing that fact, was crazy. Plenty of others weighed in, as well, with some rather -- ahem -- pointed remarks about moms, soap operas and bon-bons. The story, and your reactions to it, caught the eye of the good Dr. Phil McGraw himself.
Flying out to Los Angeles for the taping, I was as nervous as a long-tailed dog in a room full of rocking chairs. But once I got there, I was treated so kindly and so generously by everyone involved in the show that I was very quickly put at ease.
So what's it like to be backstage at a major television production? There are young production assistants dressed all in black, wearing headsets and fetching snacks and beverages for guests. There are producers with clipboards and lots of questions. There are hair and makeup people with fascinating stories about the tresses and faces of movie stars. The lovely lady who prepped me for my close-up shared how she went from jaded Hollywood insider to giggling teenage girl when she had the chance to do makeup for Michael McDonald, on whom she had a girlhood crush.
And then there is Dr. Phil, who could not have been nicer, even when I blurted out that my daughter thought I was going to see "Dr. Feel," the "Sesame Street" character based on him. He grasped my hand in his, smiled and replied," "Well, won't she be disappointed!"
The green room is neither green nor a room. The studio audience is, indeed, live. And how did I do with my hour in the spotlight? You'll just have to tune in on March 30 to find out!
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
3-29-2010 @ 12:39PM
Karen said...I've got to DVR ready!
Reply
3-29-2010 @ 4:37PM
Peggy Schoen said...Amy - Are you by any chance the Amy (Montierth) Hatch who was FHA president? Just stumbled on your blog post and was wondering if you were "my Amy".....Peg Schoen
3-30-2010 @ 3:16PM
rasheda said...I am watching it right now and i am folding laundry, just finished cooking, showered cleaned the bathroom and preparing for a class tonight. My free time is when I am sleeping, and that's not even free time!!!
Reply
4-02-2010 @ 1:11AM
marcy said...Obviously this lady has not been at my house. I have a 6yr old 2yr and 4months. My husband was recently laid off for a couple of weeks, the first day he said wow I want to do this all the time(kids were on good behavior because dad was home). By the end of the second week he said I just want to go back to work this place is crazy. Might I add on his day of complete duty while I went shopping. Marker pictures now cover the walls, I have to clean carpets(not sure what is on them) and my daughter(2) now says oh my gosh really!
3-30-2010 @ 5:15PM
Michelle said...I'm taking a lunch break at 3:00 p.m. watching Dr. Phil, and I'm really irked (to put it nicely) at what all the guys said on this website. I have been a single parent for 10 years now because my ex decided to run off with my friend/his boss and move to another state and start a new life. So, instead of STICKING AROUND to be a father to his child, he decided to think with his "other" brain. I have been working 2-3 jobs seven days a week now for the last 10 years, but at least I have the love and respect of my child, which he will NEVER have! Next time you "dads" think you've got it rough, try sticking around and actually help raise your children. Any time you want to change places with me, be my guest...I don't think any of you pompous, selfish men can handle it!
Reply
3-30-2010 @ 8:17PM
Rico said...I am watching the show and I have yet to see a "busy mom". Looks like two hours of leisure time were used to get these ladies ready. Paul Rod looks like he just fixed a sink leak to do the dishes. JK Paul you a Latin King, Im from El paso. I am a full time student and helped raise 4 nephews and a niece when my sisters lived with me. It is simplty about setting ROUTINES!! All those women sending videos look like they can use a couple with their kids and their fitness lives. About the washing machine, yea thats when women started getting it easy, thats also the time when women got out of the house to work, go out more, and started FREAKING COMPLAINING. If WOMEN STOPPED complaining, I believe we would have world peace. I can't remember the last time an unloader, fisherman, or firefighter, or any other father trying to pay child support, COMPLAINED that his job is never done. Please ladies, complain as much as you exercise.
Reply
4-02-2010 @ 1:11AM
marcy said...Child support really, don't get me started on that. Half the men wouldn't be paying child support if they would grow up and be a real man in the first place.
3-30-2010 @ 9:07PM
Dustin said...I hate how they compare men and women like this. I work 40 hrs a week cook dinner clean the house help with homework and tuck my daughter in at night. I dont complain because it is my job that i chose. Why is it it is so hard for moms to do the same without complaining? It is also a fact that men do not go to the doctor when they are in pain they tough it out. Stay at home moms are the worst come on i would trade my work life to be with my kid. Women want to be equal but only when it benifits them. Women have it easy compared to what the women of the 50s and 60s had it.
How about you work fulltime give half your paycheck to the dad so you get a second job to survive but now you have no time to see the kid so you are labeled a deadbeat. Then you could complain buck up and shut up!!
Reply
3-31-2010 @ 9:17AM
Jennifer said...I have been stay at home Mom for 8 years with my 8 years old, plus 18 and 16 now,(10 and 8 and a newborn at that time) you can have leisure time if you really ignore them to sit and watch tv or do something not productive ,or you can keep busy to give them a quality times. When they are in school I chose to clean, cook, laundry, errands.... things that need to be done ( sort out higher level in academics to have them practice, they all are in GATE program and honors students) then when they get home I just focus on them, homeworks, sports practices, tournaments . Where are the leisure time that people talking about . Stay at home Mom has a higher expectations then working Mom cause to me there is no excuses for things not done .
Reply
3-31-2010 @ 11:46AM
Julie said...I really enjoyed the show and all of the comments by the panelists. I do have a question for Amy, though - can you tell me where you found your beautiful necklace? I loved it!
Reply