First of all, let me say that I am truly sorry for the incredible amount of anguish that this family has had to endure. The pain of not knowing must be absolutely unbearable. Coming from the heart of a mother of a seven year old beautiful daughter, I can't even begin to understand.
However, with all of the information that has been flying around about this case, I am surprised- especially surprised at you, Dr. Phil, for neglecting one major fact in this case. We have all been teenagers, and the majority of us have graduated high school. We have all known that "I'm 18 and I know what's best for me" stage of our lives, and I'm sure that most of us would agree a good 10+ years later that, guess what, we didn't know at 18 what we thought we did...we don't even know now. I keep seeing these headings that Natalee was on a "school trip" in Aruba. Tell me, why do 18 year olds go to Aruba? Or Cancun, or Jamaica, or the Bahamas, or Cabo, etc? We all know the answer: They go to drink to their hearts content and live a lifestyle that isn't permitted here in the US, or maybe just under their own roof. They go so that they can party their way through vacation, not remembering a single moment of the thousand dollar vacation that their parents undoubtedly paid for. And here's the scary thing: when you live a lifestyle like that, you open yourself up to so many vulnerabilities-especially as a young woman. When you're completely inebriated and surrounded by 18 year old men who, quite frankly, are just lurking around waiting to "get laid", you are in an incredibly scary situation.
As parents, we need to take a stand in protect our children- and sometimes that means standing in their way. I understand that Natalee was 18 years old and a high school graduate, and to an extent it wouldn't matter what warnings her parents could give her, but on the other hand, I doubt that she paid for this expensive trip by herself. We as parents always need to be one step ahead of our children. I'm sure that no one would find it appropriate if they knew their children were getting drunk or high or sleeping around at home- why let them go out of the country to a place where you knew that's all they were going to do- even if (especially if) your child was NOT one to partake in those types of activities normally, but if you knew thats all that would be going on around him or her? I am not at all trying to shame Natalee or any memory of her, but we do know that she was last seen heavily drinking, and it doesn't matter if you are an 18 year old woman or a 50 year old woman, puts herself in a really scary situation when they can no longer control their circumstances. I just think that we all as parents need to be more proactive in teaching our daughters about this (and our sons, too). It is not an island country that is the perpetrator here; there are sketchy people out there, and when we surround ourselves by people who are full of alcohol and constantly looking for a good time, we put ourselves in a very dangerous situation.
Dr. Phil revisits some of his most amazing stories of the season. First, Tim and Anne Marie were desperate to save their mother, Sylvia, who was constantly talking to the voices in her head. After 10 weeks of treatment, see the inspirational turn Sylvia has taken. What will she say when she meets Dr. Phil face to face? Then, just over a month ago, two women told Dr. Phil how they fell victim to alleged con man and bigamist Ed Hicks. See how their story helped another woman and brought Hicks into police custody. Plus, 18-year-old Natalee Holloway disappeared last May during a senior class trip to the island of Aruba. Dr. Phil is joined by Natalee’s mother, Beth, her lawyer, and a consultant to the Aruban government who defends the work of the investigators. Have there been new revelations since the last time Beth appeared on the show? Could rescuers be on the brink of finding the missing teen? Talk about the show here.
