Steve's boss Bob Anderson and his wife share 'Where-did-we-go-wrong?' panic as they struggle to communicate with their son; Steve and Barbara are the counselors. The teenager is rude and disrespectful to his parents but his insolence doesn't bother them nearly as much as not knowing if he is taking drugs.
Katie becomes disillusioned about life without Robbie, and seriously thinks about divorce after speaking with another of the wives in the same situation. Meanwhile, Dodie and her two pals campaign to Barbara to let them have a slumber party.
The Douglas family becomes concerned about Dodie's despondency when Tramp, the ageing family mongrel, keeps disappearing at night. Meanwhile, Uncle Charley makes her a rag-doll and names it Arfie.
Although Barbara is feeling very ill, she is saddled with the responsibility of looking after the entire Douglas household but in the end, to escape the pressure, she just walks out leaving Steve in a worried state.
While Steve becomes pre-occupied with a time-consuming project named Taurus, Barbara blossoms forth as a Championship Cook. Her recipe for 'Tangy Tidbits' wins her a trip to Hawaii for the final cookout.
Steve suddenly becomes accident-prone when his youngest son Ernie tries to discover by graph and observation how the moon's lunar phases affect people's behaviour.
When the Douglas men feel sorry for Katie because of her husband's continued absence, they proceed to overwhelm her with attention by each one of them taking her out to the same restaurant each night.
Katie decides to put the triplets in a nursery school during the day when she fills in for a friend as a secretary, a move that enrages Uncle Charley when he hears about it. Later, it becomes apparent that he goes missing every afternoon causing the family to worry.
Uncle Charley is persuaded to fill in as a Cello teacher to a small group of reluctant young music students. His teaching methods leave much to be desired as he makes sure that they practice and practice for the upcoming recital.
Polly fears that Chip is losing interest in her as a woman, and she takes some very dramatic steps to remedy the situation. Ernie gets the impression that the marriage is on the rocks when he finds out she is sneaking away from school and making mysterious calls to a man named Andre.
Katie Douglas takes a job singing in a small coffee house, but both Steve and Charley have their doubts about the man she is going to work for. After meeting the owner's wife, they realise she is in very good hands.
Uncle Charley leaves for a week's vacation in San Francisco but meanwhile, birthdays disrupt the Douglas household, when Barbara, Katie and Polly turn against their spouses over the men's apparent oversight.
Chip complains about Polly's lack of sales resistance because they have an apartment full of useless things. But she is trapped by a salesman into giving a dinner party for eight people in exchange for a free set of cookware.
Having no choice, Steve takes the triplets to work where a secretary offers to take them home until he is finished. However he accidentally loses her details and when she finally rings, she announces that the boys have run out the front door, much to Steve's annoyance.
The wedding day for Steve's Scottish cousin and bowling alley waitress Terri Dowling finally arrives amid the traditional confusion and tears. They leave for a three day honeymoon in Las Vegas but Uncle Charley is worried about the lack of thankyou from them.
Steve's Scottish cousin Fergus, after only one date with Bowling Alley Cocktail Waitress Terri Dowling, proposes but gets turned down by her. She feels inadequate to return to Scotland as royalty, but is eventually persuaded by Steve.