The Facts of Life according to Lisa Whelchel Actress, singer, author, wife and mom shares the lessons she's learned about life and parenting. by Heather Carroll   It’s not hard to recall Blair Warner, the pretty, blond, spoiled rich kid on the TV sitcom Facts of Life. Actress Lisa Whelchel, a.k.a. Blair, entertained audiences for nine years and thanks to 20 years of reruns, is still instantly recognized on the street today.   Besides her stint on Facts of Life, Whelchel has had numerous acting roles in movies. TV and live theatre. In 1984 she wrote and recorded her Grammy nominated debut album All Because of You. Now add author to Whelchel’s many talents, with the release of her first book, Creative Correction: Extraordinary Ideas for Everyday Correction (Tyndale House Publishers).   The book is Whelchel’s response to the diversity of her three, active children (ages 7,8 and 9). Recognizing that one parenting style wouldn’t work for all three of her children (including one diagnosed with ADHD), Whelchel developed a creative method of teaching, rewarding and discipline.   Taking her own methods, and those gained through intensive research, she shares hundreds of ideas on how to creatively and effectively parent your child.   “The only real qualification that parents need is a sincere and diligent desire to follow God’s ways,” states Whelchel in her book. “God knew your strengths and weaknesses when you signed up to be a parent, and He still hired you. He will be strong where we are weak. All we have to do is depend on Him.”   It was during Facts of Life that Whelchel realized first hand about her own weakness and God’s amazing strength. Playing a beautiful, thin, rich teenager can be a problem if you start to grow out of the part ... literally. By the second season of the series, Whelchel, then 17 years old, had started to gain weight. Homesick and lonely she tried to fill the void in her life with food.   It wasn’t long before the producers of the show stepped in, sending Whelchel to fat farms and spas, hiring physical trainers and nutritionists. In her book Whelchel remembers, “They even brought in a scale and had me weigh myself every morning in the middle of the rehearsal hall, while they all gathered around to see if I had gained or lost any weight. I don’t blame them ... they had hired me to fill a particular role ... I filled it to overflowing.”   The more that people demanded a change in Whelchel’s appearance, the more she ate. The more she ate, the lonelier she became and soon reached the lowest point in the struggle over her image. Thankfully a friend came to her with the some life-changing advice. He told her that she could eat as much as she wanted, with one stipulation ... she had to get up early every day and spend time with God.   This was a new experience for Whelchel. As a Christian she was already doing the basics: praying, reading her Bible and going to church. Now she was being encouraged to spend time with God alone, talking and getting to know Him as friends do.   “I often started my talks with God by saying, ‘I love you,’ ” remembers Whelchel. “Then I’d spill everything: how much I missed my family ... how I wished I could go home. As I prayed, the pangs of loneliness and hunger began to subside. I discovered the truth of Jesus’ promise: ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry.’ ”   Whelchel didn’t magically drop 20 pounds, but eventually time took care of that adolescent plight. The change occurred on the inside, not the outside. Whelchel had discovered what she’d been craving from the beginning.   “I’ll never be able to go back and erase The Facts of Life tapes ... I don’t know if I’d want to,” states Whelchel. “It I hadn’t been intensely lonely, I might never have known intimate friendship with Jesus. If I hadn’t failed a dozen diets, I might never have decided to ‘taste and see that the LORD is good’ (Psalm 34:8).”     Lessons from Lisa   Stories, games, rewards, Bible verses, prayers and corrections pack the “toolboxes” at the end of each chapter in Creative Correction. Here’s a sample of what Lisa has to say about dealing with some common discipline problems: Disobedience   If you continually open the door to your child’s room only to catch him in an act of disobedience, take his door off the hinges. Arguing   If your child asks for something and then argues or throws a fit when you tell her no, tell her that no matter what she asks for, from that moment on the answer will be an automatic no until she can accept the answer “no” respectfully. Seatbelts   Charge a quarter any time someone is caught without a seat belt. Whoever catches the guilty one receives the quarter. Kids can catch parents, too! Controlling the Tongue   You’ve heard the reprimand “Hold your tongue!” Make your child do it ... literally. This is an especially effective correction for public outbursts.   Check out www.creativecorrection.com for more parenting ideas from Lisa Whelchel’s new book.