EPISODE TITLE: “The Di Josephs” – Premiered Monday, June 12 at 10/9c
In this episode, Rabbi Shmuley goes to Miami to help Paula Di Joseph and her fiancé Gary, deal with Paula's ADHD-diagnosed daughter.  Those with ADHD have a hard time concentrating and tend to be hyperactive.  But, after witnessing Mom lose her cool, Shmuley relays his painful diagnosis – Savannah’s erratic behavior is a direct result of Paula and Gary’s confrontational parenting style.  Shmuley also wades into the relationship between Paula, Gary and Savannah and Michael’s biological dad Robert. For the past three years, Paula hasn’t spoken to Robert, and Gary’s never even met him.  In the end, Shmuley mediates a painful and emotional first meeting and within hours, the entire extended family strolls together down the beach and begin to plan their next get-together.

Life Lesson:  Pain should not be a family heirloom passed down through generations. Give your children the best of what you got from your parents but don’t pass on the pain.

EPISODE TITLE: “The Warrens” – Premiered Monday, May 29 at 10/9c
When April Warren asks Shmuley for help with her 14 year old daughter, Teaira, it really hits home – he has three teen-aged daughters of his own. Teaira’s outbursts and sassy backtalk are driving a wedge between April and her partner of eight years, Jack.  Shmuley thinks Teaira needs much more support from her parents, especially her stepfather. Shmuley encourages Jack to tell Teaira that he loves her, and within seconds she bursts into tears and falls into his arms. It’s the first hug the pair has had in many years.  Shmuley coaches mom, dad and brother Chris as they organize a solo singing performance for Teaira in a nearby African-American Baptist church. With the full love and support of her family, the once surly Teaira blossoms – her tantrums stop, her language softens, and the family seems happier and closer.

Life Lesson:  The first few minutes after you return home from the working day are the most important minutes of the day for your family. Even though you’re tired, your first priority should be to seek out your partner and your kids and talk to them about your day. That way, you’re affirming to them each day that they are the most important priority in your life. Even when you’re weary, they’re number one.

EPISODE TITLE: “The Sterlings” – Premiered Monday, May 22 at 10/9c
Melissa's father, a Civil Rights attorney, and mother turned their back on her when she came out of the closet and moved in with Ilene.  Ilene was also ostracized by her parents. Now, this couple of 17 years is raising two girls of their own, but being pushed out of their own families has unfortunately turned them into pushy parents. Eleven-year-old Alexei spends 6 hours every day on homework.  She spends her free time writing poetry. Can Shmuley convince the two moms that their kids’ happiness comes from what their daughters think of the world, and not what the world thinks of their daughters?

Life Lesson:  Sometimes you can have too much ‘shalom’ or peace in your home. If your family is burying issues by not talking about them, then that can be more destructive than openly disagreeing about those differences.

EPISODE TITLE: “The Morgans” – Premiered Monday, May 15 at 10/9c
Carolyn Morgan had a storybook romance for 10 years, until her husband died in her arms after a car crash on Valentine’s Day, 2000. For the past 6 years, Carolyn has struggled to put her husband's tragic death behind her, and for 6 years she has fallen into deep depressions in the months leading up to Valentine’s Day.   Shmuley helps Carolyn face the painful legacy that her struggle with grief is creating for her two daughters, Mackenzie and Meghan. In the end, Carolyn and her kids appear to be happy, and for the first time in 6 years Carolyn is dating a man and is beginning to feel emotions that she was not sure she would feel again.

Life Lesson:  When the worst emotional trauma you can suffer – the death of a family member – occurs, you need to consciously ‘choose life’: to mourn appropriately, but not to let the mourning dominate how you live the rest of your life moving forward.

EPISODE TITLE: “The Maxwells ” – Premiered Monday, May 8 at 10/9c
Three-year-old Zach Maxwell is the king of his castle. He has no rules at home, he sleeps in bed with mom (while dad sleeps on the sofa), and he’s the star of a website that his dad Craig spends all of his free time working on. Between the website and the sleeping arrangements, Craig and wife Lynn Sue’s love life is non-existent. Shmuley invokes The First Commandment of Families – the marriage comes before the kids. And then he really grabs the parents’ attention when he warns Lynn Sue that her husband is ripe for an affair if they continue as they are. Will Shmuley be able to convince Craig to make the tough changes needed to fix his family?

Life Lesson:  All the conveniences of modern technology aid us in communicating – the cell phone, video camera, Internet – but they can also sometimes stop us from communicating. Take a night a week with your kids when the computer games & TV are turned off.

EPISODE TITLE: “The Wexlers ” – Premiered Monday, May 1 at 10/9c
In this episode, Shmuley meets Ali, a Jewish guy from Philadelphia who converted to Islam when he married Tijen, a Turkish Muslim. They have major culture clashes over child rearing, and their raucous arguments drive 7-year-old Dilara into her room and under her bed. Shmuley soon uncovers the real truth – mom’s over-protective parenting is the result of a childhood of abuse; dad’s impatience and aloofness stems from his being abandoned as a kid. Shmuley tells Tijen she has to stop using her kids as a security blanket, and Ali that he must deal with his anger before it destroys him and his family. After Shmuley delivers his 1st Commandment of Families – your spouse comes before your kids – he helps Ali and Tijen embark on a crash course to re-start their love life.

Life Lesson:  How we treat our parents is how our children are destined to treat us. If you have a rift with your own parents, then you risk repeating that with the next generation. 

EPISODE TITLE: “The Lubners” – Premiered Monday, April 24 at 10/9c
Todd and Lisa Lubner have a troubled 9-year-old daughter Hannah, who screams at her parents, hits her mom and does what she wants, when she wants around the house.  But, in a move that shocks mom and dad, Shmuley gets tough on them, not Hannah.  Rabbi Shmuley prescribes ‘a return to nature’ and sends the family into the woods for a night of supervised survival training. The parents have to stop bickering, pull together, and give Hannah the attention she deserves.  They pitch a tent, start a fire, even share their first tender moments as a family in years. Hannah begins acting like a cute little kid again, but will a new round of parental squabbling threaten all the progress the family has made?

Life Lesson:  Kids are the world’s most gifted mimics: if they see you blowing up with anger in dealing with a minor setback or frustration, that’s how they’re going to behave too.

EPISODE TITLE: “The Gordons” – Premiered Monday, April 17 at 10/9c
Ro and her husband Roy (both children of divorce and divorcees themselves) are struggling to keep their second marriage together. Ro’s obsessive cleaning and fiery temper are destabilizing their blended family – Roy and the kids have checked out, and the family is rapidly drifting apart. Shmuley quickly discovers how Ro’s painful childhood has left her full of anxiety and anger. Will Ro eventually realize that it’s better to have a happy house than a perfectly clean one?

Life Lesson:  A family is not an autocracy.  It is a partnership with the kids and they have to participate.  If everything they do is wrong, they are not going to participate.  People need to be rewarded for their actions.  

EPISODE TITLE: “The Romeros” – Premiered Monday, April 10 at 10/9c
Luis and Beatriz met as teenagers and were happily married for 17 years, raising four kids.  But, when financial difficulties led to arguments, Luis had an extramarital affair.  Dad is banished from the family while mom struggles to raise children who fight violently inside the home. Rabbi Shmuley realizes that this couple still has strong feelings for each other and tries to mend a broken marriage. He advises Luis to follow his heart and do everything in his power to reunite his family.  By the end of the episode, the Romeros have rekindled their relationship and the kids have stopped fighting with each other.   

Life Lesson:  When you betray your partner and lose their trust, you have to go to the opposite extreme to win them back—to bend over backwards.  If you’ve been selfish you have to display huge selflessness.