Category Archives: Family Law and Policies

Families in Society, Family Law and Policies, Family Resource Management, Internal Dynamics of Families, Interpersonal Relationships, Parenting

Mrs. Doubtfire

Title: Mrs. Doubtfire

Date: 1993

Media type: Film

Format: Complete

Category: Families in Society, Internal Dynamics of Families, Interpersonal Relationships, Family Resource Management, Family Law and Policies, Parenting

Keywords: work and family, stress and coping, family relationship, communication, decision-making, time management, legal conflict, parent-child relationships, parenting styles

Rating: PG-13

Audience(s): Children Under 12, High School Age, College Age, Adults

Language: English

Film/Episode Summary: Daniel Hillard is an eccentric actor who specializes in dubbing voices for cartoon characters. Daniel is a kind man and a loving father to his three kids Lydia, Chris, and Natalie, but Daniel’s wife Miranda sees him as a poor disciplinarian, and a bad role model. After Daniel throws an elaborate and disastrous birthday party for Chris, Miranda reaches the end of her limited patience, and files for a divorce. Daniel is heartbroken when Miranda is given custody of the kids and he’s only allowed to visit them once a week. Determined to stay in contact with his kids, Daniel discovers that Miranda is looking for a housekeeper, and with help from his brother Frank, a makeup artist, Daniel gets the job, disguised as Mrs. Iphegenia Doubtfire, a Scottish nanny. Daniel pulls off the ruse so well that neither Miranda nor his children recognize him, and in the process, he learns some parenting tips. Daniel also has to deal with Miranda’s new boyfriend, a jerk named Stu Dunmeyer.

Places to view: Youtube, Amazon Video, Vudu, Google Play, Itunes

Contributor: Anonymous

Ethical Issues and Dilemmas, Family Law and Policies, Internal Dynamics of Families

This American Life

Title: This American Life

Date: 2008

Media type: Podcast

Format: Complete

TV Season-Episode: Switched-at-Birth

Category: Internal Dynamics of Families, Family Law and Policies, Ethical Issues and Delimmas

Keywords: response to crises, legal conflict, dilemmas

Rating: NR

Audience(s): Children Under 12, High School Age, College Age, Adults

Language: English

Film/Episode Summary: 2 Babies are switched at birth in a hospital in Wisconsin in 1951 and are not made aware of it for 43 years. The mother of one of the switched babies knew the day she brought the baby home that she had the wrong baby but kept it secret for all those years. An interview and analysis of the incident follows, raising many ethical and emotional dilemmas.

Comments or Recommendations for Teaching: What do you feel about the mother who kept it secret for 43 years? What conclusions do you draw about her actions? How does this make you perceive her? What are your feelings on the ethics of this situation? What role do you think genetics played in the lives of these girls and their development?

Places to view: Hulu

Contributor: Ian Brunzell-Looney