The second to last call on the Dr. Laura show yesterday, Monday, November 26, was from a woman who said her 14 year-old daughter told her (prompted by a discussion of about abortion) that she'd engaged in sexual activity a couple of times, and that this wasn't with a boyfriend, but rather these were casual encounters.
The first thing Dr. Laura asked about the girl's father. When the caller indicated that she's married to her daughter's biological father and that he's a good, involved father, Dr. Laura coudn't blame the girl's behavior on a divorce or bad or absent father, so she repeatedly said "Something's wrong!" and urged the mother to get her daughter into therapy.
According to what Dr. Laura said, she was thinking the girl was seeking male approval, but the caller saying what she did about her husband knocked that away.
What I don't understand is how Dr. Laura dismisses the possibility that a hormonal teenaged girl simply wanted to mess around because it is fun and exciting, and her desire to do so outweighed any concerns she had about possible negative consequences? Wouldn't that be NORMAL for most teenagers? Isn't that why some parents and religious organizations spend a lot of time, money, and energy warning teenagers about the risks of young, unmarried sexual activity?
It just seemed like an odd call, but then yesterday Dr. Laura seemed to have less patience or desire to "work hard" than usual. She was hanging up on callers stuff like that.
I'd be interested in the caller following up with another call or letter if she finds out anything unusual.
Dr. Laura will usually blame any deviation from the ideal life plan she teaches (which I largely agree with is the right way to do things) as the cause of whatever she sees as a problem in the caller's life, which is often spot-on but sometimes I'm not so sure. For example, she's told a caller "Your daughter is doing [whatever the problem behavior is] because you divorced her dad and married someone else." But when I remember my sister doing the same things while our biological parents were still happily married, how does that compute? Clearly my sister wasn't doing it because of a divorce and remarriage. And maybe the caller's daughter is doing something for another reason, too.
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