Daly Focus Blog
I spend a lot of time in airports.
Air travel is a little easier when you love your job – as I do – and when I can pass the time in between flights visiting with my fellow travelers. Some of the most interesting conversations I’ve had have taken place in an airport … maybe because people there come off a little more honest, a little more vulnerable, with those they likely won’t see again.
But I’m finding those airport conversations a little harder to come by.
In a previous blog post, I wrote about passing along a faith that lasts to your children. That post focused on the most important thing parents can do: live out a vibrant faith themselves.
Today I want to share with you additional research that suggests another helpful dimension to helping your kids inherit your faith.
As it turns out, that element has a lot to do with Dad.
The power of love and affection
In a New York Times article that ran earlier this year, Prof.
The headline certainly draws you in: “Don’t Call Me Grandma: Births to ‘Older’ Moms on the Rise.” The report from NBC News highlights the growing trend of women over age 35 who are having their first baby.
Delaying pregnancy has become the new normal, and there are many reasons why this is so. First of all, men and women are both marrying at an older age. Another reason is many people – most markedly, women – are pursuing college or advanced degrees that pressure them to dedicate time to developing their careers instead of starting a family.
Stepfamilies exist for different reasons. Sometimes as a result of marriage after divorce… sometimes because of a marriage after the death of a spouse. Sometimes the stepfamily happens because a baby or child born out-of-wedlock creates a blended family after the marriage takes place.
Whatever the reason, we know this is true: in addition to the issues all families face – the sibling rivalry, economic issues, the occasional spat – stepfamilies often have some added challenges to overcome.
In my latest book, “The Good Dad,” I spent a lot of time and pages on the importance of dads simply “being there” for their kids.
“Our kids aren’t asking for perfection,” I wrote. “They’re asking for our presence – to show up for the job each and every day. They’re asking us to be there for them, to guide them, to hug them.”
When we’re there with them, accompanying them in the trenches of everyday life, we’re able to serve as a guiding influence over our children.
Typing and “quick communication” have taken over our lives.
From the endless emails that are part of many of our jobs to text messages asking if someone can pick up bread and milk on their way home, typing has largely replaced handwriting.
Scientists are beginning to warn us that this move to all things technology isn’t completely beneficial. Last month The Boston Globe’s article “Taking notes? Bring a pen, skip the computer” connected handwriting with memory retention.
While we’re still a few weeks from the official start of summer on June 21, the Daly Family already has a summer kind of mind.
My wife Jean snapped this picture of the boys and me after we had enjoyed some time boogie boarding in Corona del Mar, California and were at the Shake Shack to watch the sunset.
We make it a point to spend some family time just having fun every summer – after all, laughing and playing together is a great way to make some treasured memories.
His marriage was dead. It was past acrimony and fighting. Comedian Jeff Allen and his wife, Tami, were at a stage of apathy.
After years of his alcoholism and fits of rage, it got to the point where Tami always had her back to Jeff.
Finally, one night, Jeff and Tami were in bed when he tried to talk with her – except she refused to turn around.
“No, please,” she said.
“What’s the problem?” Jeff inquired.
It’s an unsettling trend that’s quickly gaining speed: toddlers are increasingly being prescribed drugs for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
A recent article from the Today Show cites the number of U.S. 2- and 3-year-olds receiving the medication at 10,000.
Are these drugs necessary?
Let’s be honest: toddlers can be a rowdy bunch. It’s not easy to parent during these years and keep up with the constant running, screaming, climbing, and curiosity that’s characteristic of this age.
But when you think about it, toddlers are active because it’s their “job” to play.
Video games are in the news more and more – and usually, it’s not for good reasons.
Gaming is sometimes blamed in the growing trend where young men are finding it increasingly difficult to achieve major life milestones like moving out of their parents’ house, going to college, getting married and starting a family. Some of these men are stuck in a prolonged adolescence; one stat says 18-to- 34-year-old men spend more time playing video games than 12-to- 17-year-old boys.
Jim Daly is a husband, father and President of Focus on the Family and host of its National Radio Hall of Fame broadcast. His blog, Daly Focus, is full of timely commentary and wisdom designed to help you navigate and understand today’s culture. His latest book is Marriage Done Right.
