Interview with Scott Gale, author of "Your Family Constitution"

What prompted the book? Who is the inspiration behind it?

I originally created my family’s first constitution out of sheer necessity. My wife and I had been struggling to stay on top of things, as we were out of synch and had no clear vision for how to proceed. My kids were frustrated and confused because our rules were reactive and subject to change based on circumstance. On Mother’s Day 2007, my nine-year-old son and I got in an argument that ultimately resulted in me taking a twelve-mile hike home from Laguna Beach to cool off. I knew at that point something had to change.

In the weeks that followed, I received a constitution outlining the rules of my fantasy football league, which I modified to spell out new boundaries and structure for my family. It worked well and we steadily improved over the next couple of years. When my friends kept emphasizing what a special tool I had created, I decided to share it with other parents through this book.

Who is your biggest supporter?

As you might guess, my family has been my greatest support. Although they all initially had concerns about having a Family Constitution, they now appreciate the impact of clarity and consistency.

Who is your biggest critic?

My wife, Karen, was my biggest critic. When I started to write the book, she had concerns about me sharing personal information and stories about our family. In the end, we both learned that many other families shared our challenges, which ultimately made her feel much better.

What causes are you most passionate about? Why?

Although I don’t know if it qualifies as a cause, I am extremely passionate about encouraging kids to enjoy an active lifestyle. I have real concerns about the passive habits that kids fall into when no one takes the time to show them how fun sports and outdoor activities can be. I coach baseball and try to give the kids an outstanding experience so that they will want to come back the next season and play again.

As far as real causes go, I support the American Cancer Society. I have a dear friend fighting liver cancer and my sister beat ovarian cancer at the age of fifteen. I donated book revenue from my launch party and would like to continue to support the organization in the future.


In the last year, have you learned or improved any skills?

I am a big believer in continual improvement, both as a parent and a person. I have learned to slow down and appreciate my blessings. I work from home now, so get to enjoy my kids a lot more. I’m not sure that I’ll ever be able to work from a remote office again after that experience.


Do you have any rituals you follow when finishing a piece of work?

Since this is my first piece of work, I suppose it is a ritual in the making. We celebrated by going to Dave & Buster’s to enjoy a night of fun with the kids.









Scott Gale is an author and instructor at University of California Irvine. His passion is helping families communicate and re-connect in spite of today’s hectic lifestyle and increased demands. Scott’s new book, “Your Family Constitution: A Modern Approach to Family Values and Household Structure,” inspires readers to increase togetherness and progressively improve by leveraging clarity, consistency and commitment.

For more information on his book or to learn how to create your customized Family Constitution visit: http://www.yourfamilyconstitution.com/ or e-mail: sgale@yourfamilyconstitution.com .

Your Family Constitution Helps Busy Parents to Create Manageable Family StructureJust in time… a formerly stressed-out dad’s perspective provides a common-sense playbook to reach family harmony. As today’s parents cope with scores of competing obligations and responsibilities, raising kids with good core values is an extreme challenge. Combine this perpetual struggle with the effects of technological distractions, societal lack of discipline, and failures to communicate, and it is not hard to understand why so many parents throw up their hands in defeat and accept mere survival.

Author Scott Gale refused to settle for chaos. Instead, he designed a powerful tool that allowed him to alleviate family challenges through the thoughtful application of clarity, consistency and commitment (the “3Cs”). Your Family Constitution tells his story and provides a step-by-step process that parents can follow to balance schedules and produce time they never before had, improve family communication, relieve pent-up frustration, and wrap healthy boundaries around core values; applying rewards, consequences and accountability standards to maintain them.

A stressed-out parent downloaded the first chapter and replied, “You are easy to read, easy to understand and easy to identify with. It seems that intentional parenting has gotten lost, and you've provided a blueprint for creating a family with positive family values, ideals and rules to live and grow by. So, thanks for your courage to detail your own experience and offer personal insights for the benefit of frustrated, busy and untrained parents.”