By Melissa Hancock
Clinical professor James MacArthur''s book 'Everyday Parents Raising Great Kids' will be the topic of discussion Monday on Dr. Laura Schlessinger''s radio program on 570AM.
'It''s overwhelming,' said MacArthur, associate director of BYU''s Counseling Center. 'I am pretty pumped likes it.
Dr. Laura''s radio talk show, which airs weekdays from 1-4 p.m., is the second largest radio show in America, MacArthur said. She only has a few books on her show a year.
The book was published by Shadow Mountain, an arm of Deseret Book used to nationally publish books beyond the Latter-day Saint community.
'This book is perfect for the LDS community, but there is not direct LDS reference in it,' MacArthur said. 'So it can be adapted to anybody in any setting.'
He said the fact anybody can apply the principles in his book is the reason why Dr. Laura liked it.
Not only did he learn and gain knowledge from raising ten children in his own home, but also many of the principles and values come from his experience as a psychologist and his church positions as Bishop and Stake President. But, he first gained an interest in family relationships from his experiences in his childhood.
'I grew up in a very dysfunctional family,' MacArthur said. 'When I joined the church as a young adult, I became interested in how families can be healthy.'
MacArthur said today''s parents are busier and more overwhelmed with everyday tasks. Parents are taking the focus away from the home.
In the book, MacArthur talks about intentional parenting. He emphasized the importance of parents being strong leaders in the family.
'Parents need to find ways to pay very close attention to the family in very regular ways,' MacArthur said. 'Anticipate your family''s needs on a regular basis.'
He established a concept called Family Discussion Time. MacArthur tells parents to meet together without their children once a week to discuss family issues, and talk about the condition of each of their children.
'I just hammer away to the point of being obnoxious about how crucial parental leadership is,' MacArthur said. ' is their ship, and they are the captain.'
He also said regular parents can be good parents and can have good families. He avoided the typical perfectionist position parents feel they need to have.
'I tried to make it sound like something anyone can do,' MacArthur said. 'I wanted it to feel doable and encouraging.'
He said the family is the most enduring unit of society, so parents need to make it their number one priority.
'This is the only organization you are always in, regardless of its condition,' MacArthur added. 'Therefore, it is the one organization we need to protect, feed and work on.'