Family and Home Archives

Watch Amazing Video of 31-Week-Old Baby Smiling in the Womb

Note: Did you miss out on watching “The Drop Box” last week? Well, tonight more than 400 theaters across the nation are showing a one-time encore presentation of this award-winning documentary film. Check out locations and purchase your tickets online at www.thedropboxfilm.com!

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If you’re a parent of a biological child, you’ll never forget the first moment you saw your little one on an ultrasound image.

It’s the ultimate look within. Today’s expectant parents can see what tens of billions of couples throughout history never did – 3-D images of their preborn baby moving around inside the womb.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, kids, parenting, pro-life, technology March 16, 2015 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Technology Rewires Your Child’s Brain. Here’s How to Help Avoid That

Technology is a way of life for kids. They use it for everything from simple communication with family and friends to entertainment to school-related tasks.

And the numbers prove it. In the course of just one minute, YouTube users upload 48 hours of new video content. Facebook users share over 680,000 pieces of content. More than 2 million Google searches occur. And over 200 million email messages are sent. And did you know teenagers send on average over 3,000 texts every month?

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, kids, parenting, technology March 5, 2015 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Is Technology Hurting Our Witness at Home?

I’ve previously shared how parents can pass along a lasting faith to their kids. In a nutshell, there are two things parents should do:

Live out an authentic, vibrant faith themselves
Help their children develop spiritual habits, like regular prayer and Scripture reading

But as times change and technology brings us increased convenience, I’ve wondered if an unintended consequence is that, in some areas, our digital life could potentially undermine our efforts to model the faith?

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, parenting, technology February 23, 2015 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Learn the Fundamentals of Parenting

Vince Lombardi was the legendary football coach of the Green Bay Packers. Throughout the 1960s, his teams dominated the National Football League. But their astounding success was not the result of new and innovative ways to play the game. It was quite the opposite.

In fact, one notorious example demonstrates how adamant Coach Lombardi was that his players master the fundamentals. At the beginning of training camp the year after one of the team’s most successful seasons, Lombardi gathered his men for a pep talk.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, family, news, parenting February 19, 2015 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

This Unromantic Notion Will Give Your Marriage a Boost

What would you say if I suggested that on this Valentine’s Day, you celebrate your “average” marriage?

It doesn’t sound too romantic, does it?

The suggestion certainly goes against the Hollywood notion of love, with its exaggerated portrayals of couples blissfully, breathlessly enraptured with each other.

But let’s get real here.

Real life isn’t like a jewelry ad in a magazine where everything looks picture-perfect. It’s not as exciting as the song on the radio praising the thrill of a brand-new relationship.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: marriage February 11, 2015 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

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 to Pep Up Your Marriage

Did you get married to work a job, to do laundry, or to pay bills? Most people don’t. Yet, many marriages wind up in exactly that kind of “ho-hum” condition. At some point after the euphoria of the wedding ceremony, life settles into a daily grind of routine activity. Careers are chased, children are born, a larger home is purchased with two new cars in the garage.

And, slowly, the romance fades.

What used to be hours on the phone together and regular date nights becomes two people who only talk about practical matters, like finances or the kids’ grades.

Topics: Family and Home January 9, 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