Please permit me to play the Devil's Advocate for a moment in defense of Ed.
First off, men tend to be wired differently than women when it comes to child rearing. They marry quicker after widowhood, especially when there are children involved, why ? Because they really don't know how to care for their children.
Now before fathers ( and mothers) get up on their soapboxes, permit me this, I see MANY more women pouring over childcare books, or reading up on child behavior and potential problems. The majority of the time, Mom is the primary caregiver of the children, Dad isn't ( and that IS NOT to say that fathers are not involved in their children , I am merely stating the reality of life , there are more stay home moms, than there are stay home dads ).
So it is painfully obvious, no one chose to read, or seek the advice of a professional, on dealing with grief in children, this child had no time to grieve for the breakdown of her family, and then the car wrek and being thrust on a woman who was obviously harbouring resentment toward the child, then for this woman to be beating her ?
But, Ed NEEDS to get out, and bring his daughter home with him, he NEEDS to learn to be a parent, but that being said, he NEEDS to work out his own issues of guilt, and grief BEFORE he can expect to be an effective parent to her, she needs him, but he is no good to her if he is going to blame her for the breakdown of his second marriage.
At least Barbara was honest enough to admit on national television that she beat the child, and that she hated the child, maybe he needed to see that, who knows, but to her I would say, a six year old cannot vocalize her feelings effectivly, CHILDREN ACT OUT !!!! Behavior and temperment all suffer when a child is under undue stress, BEATIN A CHILD WILL NOT HELP, it will only make the situation worse, GROW UP, a child will repeat everything you DON"T want them to repeat at the worse times, you have a child of your own, you should know that, but I caught the comment about what a great disciplinarian you are, and I can only assume, your own child has felt the sting of the belt as well.
To Ed I would say, what in god's name is wrong with you, and why the hell didn't you press charges for that ?Why did you not INSIST that your child be treated like you treat your wife's child ? She made it cleatr she wouldn't tolerate it, then why do you ?
Because, men are scared of being alone, we women usually have other friends and family slose by to offer support and help, we are the ones who will seek out the doctors and books to help us, men are scared of asking, or have this naive notion that any woman is happy to raise a child from his first marriage, not all women are going to be thrilled with that, though with a second marriage, it might start out being just weekends, but as this case shows, tradgedy can and does strike, one has to prepare.
Sorry for the ramble, just my thoughts on the whole deal, but the one who suffers most for it, is that child, she neither deserved it, nor did she ask for it, and it's about time someone took a stand for her, HER FATHER!!!!
(Original Air Date: 04/24/06) Have you ever been so fed up with your spouse's behavior that you’ve considered giving him or her an ultimatum? Dr. Phil talks to guests who say their marriage is on the rocks, and they need help reconnecting. Barbara calls her stepdaughter, Ambreah, "a monster." She says she inherited “the little thing" when her husband, Ed's, ex-wife was in a tragic car accident. Ambreah no longer lives with them, but Barbara says if Ed brings her back into their house, she'll leave. Should Ed be forced to choose between his wife and his child? Then, Bobby, a country music singer, says his wife, Danyel's, jealous ways are pushing him to the brink. She curses out other women, checks his cell phone records and accuses him of cheating on her. Bobby says if Danyel doesn't stop her behavior, he's ready to go solo. Is Bobby giving Danyel a reason to sing the blues? Talk about the show here.
