parenting Archives

4 Tips for Parenting an Adult Child Who Has Made Poor Choices

Unfortunately, even good parents might one day see their adult children make poor choices. Here at Focus we’ve spoken with many heartbroken moms and dads who are grappling to understand and respond well to their grown kids’ decisions.

Here are four tips from our counselors on how parents can help their child get back on track.

1. Ease your guilt.
Every parent makes mistakes. However, as an adult, your son or daughter is now old enough to make their own choices and to take responsibility for them.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, parenting January 20, 2015 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Parenting the Strong-Willed Child as a Team

Let’s be honest: Parenting isn’t for the weak – especially when you’re raising a strong-willed child.

It’s not fun when a pint-sized little one defiantly refuses to obey or when a 14-year-old talks back. Our natural instincts want to kick in. It’s all too easy to respond in anger.

My wife, Jean, and I know this well. We have two teenage boys, and one of them is a strong-willed child. It’s interesting to look back over the years and see how he’s impacted Jean and me in different ways.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, family, kids, parenting January 15, 2015 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Is Your Family’s Schedule Overwhelmed?

I’ve got a riddle for you. “You can spend it, but you can’t keep it. And once you’ve lost it, you can never get it back.” Do you know what it is? Here’s a clue:

Let’s say you win a contest. The grand prize is $86,400 wired into your bank account each day at midnight. The money is yours to spend however you want. There’s just one catch. At the end of the day, every penny you don’t spend disappears from your account.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family, parenting January 13, 2015 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

How Would You Answer This Critical Question?

I decided to sit down with my boys over the Christmas break and have a talk with them.

We’ve already had THE talk about the birds and the bees. Trent is now 14 and Troy is 12. Like it or not, they’re well on their way toward the battles of life.

In fact, we regularly talk about the big issues of sex, drugs and drinking. We have a mantra in our home which both boys can recite.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, parenting January 7, 2015 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

How to Be a Good Dad When You Didn’t Have One

If you want to know how much dads matter in the lives of their children, ask me – I didn’t grow up with a dad.

My biological dad, stepdad and foster dad were all out of my life by the time I turned 13.

It’s tough to go through life with a father who’s either physically or emotionally absent. But don’t take my word for it; just look at the statistics. They’ll show you how things go awry when a dad’s not at home.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, kids, parenting December 22, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

VIDEO: This Little Girl’s Life Was Saved During a Football Game

It was January 2010 when word got out that Focus was planning to air a pro-family commercial during Super Bowl XLIV.

Except many in the media were calling it an “anti-abortion” commercial – and many abortion rights groups were irate. Their condemnation was harsh. Many called on CBS to cancel our ad, despite not having even seen it.

The network ignored the spirited petitions urging them to reject the advertisement. It ran as scheduled in the first half.

Topics: Focus Events Tags: parenting, pop culture, pro-life, promos December 17, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Do You Agree with These Parents’ Decision to “Cancel” Christmas?

When John and Lisa Henderson grew weary of the poor behavior of their three boys, ages 5, 8, and 11, the couple decided upon a radical remedy.

They decided to “cancel” Christmas.

No Santa. No stockings. No presents.

“We have not cancelled putting up decorations, celebrating the birth of our Savior, or any of our other heartwarming traditions,” Lisa explains in her recent blog post, which has gone viral and won the family an interview with “Good Morning America.”

But after months of working with their boys to help them curb a growing sense of entitlement and bad behavior, the parents decided to take the money they would have spent on presents and instead “put it towards service projects and giving gifts to others.”

Their goal?

Topics: Current Events Tags: parenting, pop culture December 10, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

What Kind of “Smart” is Your Child? Unlocking Their Potential

Each day on the daily radio broadcast, John and I have the privilege of interviewing a great variety of people – all of them uniquely gifted by God.

We’ve featured athletes and authors; singers and activists; theologians and politicians… and it’s wonderful to see how they contribute in their own areas, for the glory of God.

By now you might be asking yourself what this has to do with unlocking your child’s potential.

Here’s the link…

All of the luminaries we feature on our broadcast were, at one point in their lives, kids.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, kids, parenting December 8, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Three Ways to Fight Childhood Obesity… at Home

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents over the past 30 years. Along with it comes an increase in all the health problems associated with obesity: tendencies towards heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and bone and joint problems.

So, what can be done about it?

It would seem patently obvious that the solution to obesity in children is to have them eat healthy and move around more.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: kids, parenting December 4, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Teaching Kids to Be Grateful

Isn’t it strange that in a nation nicknamed the “land of opportunity” that so many struggle to find happiness?

I think, in part, that’s because we haven’t learned the discipline of gratitude. I’m not talking about the brief moments here and there where we acknowledge God’s blessings. I’m talking about living a life of gratitude.

Maybe gratitude is difficult because cynicism is too easy.

By nature, I’m an optimist. But it’s easy to turn pessimistic from time to time.

Topics: Focus Events Tags: broadcast, faith, parenting November 24, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura