parenting Archives

How to Pass Along a Faith that Lasts to Your Kids

A few weeks ago, I blogged about the misperception that millennials are losing their faith. In that post, I mentioned two facts that will springboard us to today’s topic of faith retention:

1. Young people are not leaving the church in droves.

2. Of all young adults that do leave the church, only 11 percent came from homes where a consistent/serious faith was practiced, whereas 89 percent came from lukewarm or no-faith homes.

In other words, what parents do to build faith into their kids matters.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: church, kids, parenting November 6, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Guest Post: Mom and Dad Together, as It Should Be

Today I’m sharing a piece by Alliance Defending Freedom’s senior opinion editor and writer, AWR Hawkins. As you may know, ADF is on the forefront of the effort to preserve the timeless, universal, and unique institution of marriage. In this piece, Hawkins makes the case for the lifelong union of a husband and wife.

____________

Home is a place with a function. It is the roof under which Mom and Dad, together in marriage, ground and raise a family.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family, husband, parenting, wife October 22, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Meet Focus on the Family’s V.I.P. Guest

Here at Focus, we’ve been privileged to welcome many influential people for visits. Some are well-known Christian leaders and others are from the entertainment and sports worlds. We’ve hosted politicians and even public figures who passionately disagree with some of what we believe. Whoever it has been, we’ve been delighted to meet and host them on our campus.

As memorable as these opportunities are, however, they just don’t compare to the critically ill young boys and girls who have visited through the years thanks to the work of organizations like the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Topics: Focus Events Tags: family, kids, parenting, staff September 27, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Fetal Pain Opens Eyes to Preborn Humanity

Recently, a colleague shared an encouraging article with me from Utah’s Deseret News. Titled, “Small survivors: How the disputed science of fetal pain is reshaping abortion law,” the piece does an excellent job of highlighting the humanity of preborn babies.

The article tells the story of twin toddlers, Caleb and Julian, who had been born at 26 weeks and 5 days gestation. Their birth age is noticeably earlier than the 28 weeks milestone the Supreme Court had originally set as the point of “viability” back in 1972.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: kids, parenting, pro-life September 26, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

A Unique Way to Encourage Your Children

If you listened to today’s broadcast on the importance of parents encouraging their kids, you may have heard me mention that I keep journals for my boys, Trent and Troy. Since it’s a bit of a passing comment within the broadcast, I want to expand on that remark here in my blog and share with you what my journaling looks like and what motivated me to start.

As you may know, my own father wasn’t around for much of my childhood.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: church, kids, parenting September 23, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

6 Ways to Know Your Adult Child is Maturing Well

We receive hundreds of thousands of inquiries every year from people seeking relationship and family advice – and among the top topics are moms and dads asking about their adult children.

Our counselors have helped many parents concerned about their millennial-age kids: Should they take a year off from their studies? Why do they seem like they lack direction? Should they take on more responsibility? Why aren’t they looking to settle down?

It can be a challenging road to walk.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, husband, kids, parenting, wife September 19, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

How to Answer the Tough Questions Kids Have About Christianity

A recent study found that children ask about 300 questions a day. Often they’re easy ones. But as our children grow and mature, the questions often get tougher.

And then there are times when the questions our kids ask have eternal significance.

“Are there other ways to get to heaven?”

“How can Jesus be God?”

“If God loves us, why are some people going to bed hungry tonight?”

Have you ever had your child ask one of those questions?

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, kids, parenting August 23, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

School’s Back in Session, and Values are Put to the Test

It’s back-to-school time. Kids are filling their backpacks with their new supplies. Parents are taking pictures of smiling children before waving goodbye. Teachers are welcoming their new students. It’s time for these youngsters to learn reading, ’riting and … sexually explicit lessons? The promotion of same-sex relationships and gender confusion? Negative portrayals of some religious beliefs?

Sound a bit too alarmist?

Sadly, that’s what is going to be the case for students in too many classrooms across the nation.

Topics: Current Events Tags: homosexuality, kids, news, parenting, pop culture August 21, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Is Intentional Childlessness Biblical?

Time magazine’s provocative cover story last week, “The Childfree Life,” explores why some couples are choosing to deliberately not have children and taps into a larger, worldwide trend towards smaller families.

A good portion of the piece is rooted in cultural observation and fact.

Not surprisingly, some of the causes are found in modern life. Young couples are marrying later, if at all, and instead of having children, they’re increasingly choosing to pursue college and advanced degrees and becoming more active in the work force.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: adoption, kids, parenting August 19, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

VIDEO: This May Change How You Talk to Your Kids

Positive affirmation is generally considered a good thing, but would it surprise you if I told you that letting your child know that he or she is smart may be detrimental to their future success? According to recent studies, it’s true.

An interesting article from New York Magazine, “How Not to Talk to Your Kids,” outlines why parents may want to stay away from praising their kids’ intelligence: it might cause children to stay away from things they may not be initially successful at.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: parenting August 15, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura