Dear Dr. Phil . . .

[Cindy C.]

Dear Dr. Phil,

I am writing to you because of my three children.  They are on 
summer break, and they are driving me wild!  The oldest fights with 
the middle child, and as soon as I separate them, the middle child 
fights with the youngest, and as soon as I separate them and apply 
bandages to their wounds, the youngest has started up with the 
oldest!  Our little poodle is high-strung and doesn't like conflict, 
so he jumps into the fray and tries to nip whichever child forgot to 
feed him.

I've tried everything, Dr. Phil, and nothing works.  Last summer, I 
threw the lot of them out of the house into the backyard (I gave 
them water), and that got their attention.  That won't work this 
year because the temperatures in our area have been unseasonably 
cool all summer.

I'm running out of options and I'm getting desperate here!  I'm not 
allowed to beat them (I asked the police and they were very firm 
about that).  I could strangle them, but everybody would figure out 
that I did it because my wedding ring would leave a mark.  

Help me, Dr. Phil!  If I could go on your show, I know we could work 
through these problems before the commercial break.

Cindy -- all three kids start school on Tuesday, and the poodle 
stays with me