Parents' Guide to

My Dysfunctional Family

By Melissa Camacho, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 15+

Family fixer reality seems well-intentioned, but intense.

TV CMT Reality TV 2014
My Dysfunctional Family Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this TV show.

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What's the Story?

MY DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILY is a reality series about families in crisis, and a self-proclaimed "family fixer" who gives them tough wake up calls. It stars television personality Dave Vitalli, the owner of a New York-based security and investigations company, who travels across the country to spend a week with families who are dealing with a wide-variety complex issues that are tearing them apart. Using drug-sniffing dogs, lie detectors, and various commando-like scare tactics, he works with families to help them figure out what is creating the problems, and suggests ways that they can help themselves fix them. After he leaves, updates are offered about how the family is doing.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

From temporarily throwing family members into jail, to offering kids a constructive outlet through going to a boxing gym, Dave Vitalli mixes tough love, heartfelt conversations with individual family members, and family workshops, to help parents and kids begin resolving the issues that are impacting their families. Throughout it all, he shares his thoughts about what he believes are the problems and the ways that they can be fixed.

It's hard to tell whether or not some of these tactics will make a difference in the long-term, given that they are happening in front of cameras, and that the families being featured volunteered to be on a reality show. Meanwhile, while Vitalli is well-intentioned, his lack of professional therapeutic training makes you wonder if his interventions are actually useful. But his passion for mentoring troubled kids is apparent, and there are some important lessons to be learned here.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about what would motivate a family in crisis to begin resolving their problems on a reality series. Do you think doing this will improve a family's chances of resolving their issues? Does appearing on TV make them more accountable for their actions?

  • Can shows like this one really help viewers learn more about these kinds of problems and how to fix them?

TV Details

  • Premiere date: July 6, 2014
  • Cast: Dave Vitalli
  • Network: CMT
  • Genre: Reality TV
  • TV rating: TV-PG
  • Last updated: February 26, 2022

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