kids Archives

The Sexy Side of Virginity

I have some good news. Sort of.

According to a recently released report from the National Center for Health Statistics, virginity is on the rise. Eight years ago, 22 percent of men and women under age 24 said they were abstinent. Today that figure stands at 29 percent for women and 27 percent for men.

Debbie Roffman, a human sexuality educator in Baltimore, told a newspaper that multiple factors are likely at work, including “greater involvement by parents in communicating about sexual values and decision-making and providing greater supervision and monitoring of their children’s activities.”

The flip side of the findings is obvious.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: kids, sex March 30, 2011 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

How to Find a Great Summer Job

Do you have vivid memories of your first job?

When I was nine and living in Long Beach, California, a friend and I wandered into the local Goodyear Tire store. I approached the manager and boldly asked if he had any jobs for nine year olds. To our delight, he did! We were hired on the spot. My buddy and I were given flyers to distribute around the neighborhood.

A few years later, I was hired to wash windows at the nearby Dairy Queen.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, kids March 22, 2011 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

WANTED: Your Family Photos!

You probably know Focus on the Family’s motto is “Helping families thrive.”

What you may not know is that our Colorado Springs campus is a significant tourist destination – we’ve had more than 200,000 visitors come through our doors annually for many years running. They come to learn more about who we are and what we do and to share with us how our radio programs and resources have helped them. There is plenty for them to enjoy as they walk through our facility, but one thing is missing.

Topics: Focus Events Tags: faith, family, kids, marriage, parenting January 26, 2011 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Philadelphia Grief

When a tape of an Oval Office conversation from January 23, 1973, was released in 2009, many were surprised that President Nixon expressed ambivalence when talking about the Supreme Court’s decision the day before that legalized abortion.

The White House issued no statement on the day Roe v. Wade was decided. On the tapes, Nixon expressed concern that broader access to abortion would foster “permissiveness” and that it “breaks the family.” Yet, he also said he saw reasons why it might be necessary, such as – shockingly and offensively – in cases of interracial pregnancies.

Topics: Current Events Tags: kids, news, pro-life January 24, 2011 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

MTV’s Obsession with Child Abuse

On December 29th, the Miami Herald ran a startling headline:

MTV’s Every Detail Etched on Children’s Minds

The article’s author, Ellen Livingston, spoke with myriad teachers and students about the network’s massive influence, almost all negative. John Anderson, a teacher at a private Lutheran School, said he’s worried kids are obsessed with it. He cited the fact that creative assignments often include MTV references.

Livingston asked the question: Knowing that the programming gets “its force from sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll” do parents mind their children spending the best years of their youth in front of MTV?

Topics: Current Events Tags: entertainment, kids, pop culture January 21, 2011 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Are Babies Better than Abortion?

Writing in today’s Wall Street Journal, William McGurn asks a serious question:

Are babies better than abortion?

Mr. McGurn is responding to a sobering new study recently released from the Chiaroscuro Foundation, a private nonprofit organization. He writes:

After crunching the latest statistics from New York City’s Health Department, the foundation reported that 41% of pregnancies (excluding miscarriage) in New York ended in abortion. That’s double the national rate.

As a society, does this figure say anything about the choice between a baby and abortion?

Topics: Current Events Tags: kids, policy, pro-life January 18, 2011 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Do Something Now!

I’ve never been one to lament that the future of the Christian church rests in the hands of those from Generation X, Y or now Z.

Maybe that’s because I’ve always believed there are great leaders and bright lights in every age and stage of life – you just need to know where to look!

Esther Fleece, Focus on the Family’s Director of Millennial Relations, is one such leader, and she’s helped Focus partner with many like-minded ministries dedicated, as we are, to reaching the next generation.

Topics: Current Events Tags: events, faith, kids January 14, 2011 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Imago Dei

The beliefs of Dr. Peter Singer, an ethics professor at Princeton University, are anathema to those of us who believe in the sanctity of human life. Yet, unlike some in the abortion movement, Dr. Singer is, though offensive in speech and philosophy, honest and straightforward about what he believes and why he believes it.

When articulating his support for legalized abortion, Peter Singer admits his valuation of human life is based on a person’s capacities instead of it being measured on the Christian belief that life is made in God’s image, and thus worthy of protection.

Topics: Focus Events Tags: events, kids, policy, pro-life January 13, 2011 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Satisfaction

There was an interesting blurb in last Thursday’s USA Today’s “Snapshots” (Life Section, p. D1).

The Pew Research Center asked the following question:

Who is most satisfied with family life?

Married people reported the highest degree of satisfaction, followed by the widowed. Next came those who live with a partner.

In other words, those who are cohabitating are less happy than those who have lost a spouse to death.

Why?

There is a power and beauty (and satisfaction) in the act of commitment.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, kids, marriage, parenting January 12, 2011 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Looking for a Saturday TV Movie?

Tomorrow, Saturday, January 8th, Fox will air a movie on adoption, “Change of Plans” at (8pm ET, 7pm CT), as part of Wal-Mart and P&G’s Family Movie Night series.

What’s the movie all about?

Synopsis:

Up to this point, Sally Danville’s life has played out just as she hoped it would. A beautiful and free-spirited musician, she and her fighter-pilot husband, Jason, live life on the go, free of domestic responsibilities. But with a single phone call from Child & Family Services case worker, Dorothy (Phylicia Rashad, The Cosby Show), she learns that things don’t always go according to plan.

Topics: Focus Events Tags: entertainment, family, kids, staff January 7, 2011 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura