Jim Daly

Keeping Your Kids Safe Includes Emotional Safety, Too

The measures we parents take to protect our kids can be humorous at times. We teach them to ride their bikes with helmets, knee and elbow pads, and thickly padded gloves – every safety accessory short of bubble wrap. We fill our electrical sockets with plastic covers, erect gates in front of our staircases, and childproof our kitchen cabinets. Some parents even install video monitors to watch over their child’s every move.

Somewhere along the way, legitimate safety concerns have morphed into complete inoculation against every bump and scraped knee.

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Memorial Day is About Honoring the One Million

One million. It’s a big number. But on today of all days, that number takes on even greater value and significance.

That’s because today is Memorial Day, the day we remember over one million Americans who have died in war on behalf of us all.

That figure is astounding by itself. But it’s even more sobering when you reflect on this: behind every number is a name, and behind every name is a family whose entire world changed forever because that soldier didn’t come home.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, events, family

Goya Foods Declines to Honor Convicted Terrorist, Shows Principled Leadership

I’ve previously mentioned on the blog how Focus on the Family has partnered with Goya Foods to help children living in at-risk communities.

Today I want to share with you another reason why I’m proud of Goya and the principled leadership emanating from the largest Hispanic-owned food company in the United States.

The story involves New York City’s Puerto Rican Day Parade, which is scheduled this year for Sunday June 11th. This annual event celebrates the rich culture of the small Caribbean island and U.S.

Continue ReadingTopics: Current Events Tags: news, pro-life

What Are You Afraid Of?

What are you afraid of?

A lot of us were scared of the dark when we were little. There’s something about the lights going out that transforms ordinary shadows into dreadful monsters.

Years later, we still have our monsters, don’t we? Relational problems. Health crises. Significant life changes that are beyond our control. They’re more sophisticated than the creepy things we feared hid under our bed as children, but they haunt us just the same.

Back when you were a kid, you probably hid from your fears by pulling the blankets a little tighter.

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What Behavior Counts as Cheating on Your Spouse?

The Eighth Commandment seems clear enough:

“You shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14).

It should go without saying, but in the world’s terms, adultery is when voluntary intercourse occurs between a married person and a person who is not his or her spouse.

Straightforward enough, right? Well, the team here at Focus regularly fields questions such as:

“My spouse sent a romantic text message to another person, is that cheating?”
“Does an emotional affair really count as adultery?”

Beyond mere curiosity, these are actual real-life situations.

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Rekindle Your Love for ‘Ordinary Life’

Most people enter marriage with high expectations. They dream of long walks through the neighborhood every night and long walks along the beach in the summer. Every day will be romantic and exciting.

But somewhere between “I do” and “happily ever after” daily life settles into a predictable routine. And by “predictable” I mean “mundane” – dare I even say “boring.” Before long, discontentment kicks in, and we’re living in what I call the “when’s” and “if only’s” of life.

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The Inside Scoop on What’s Going on in Your Teen’s Brain

“What were you thinking?”

If you’re a parent of teenagers, you’ve probably asked that question a few times. I know I have. On more than one occasion, Jean and I have looked at each other and asked the same question about one of our boys: “What is going on in that brain of his?”

Well, according to Dr. Jeramy and Jerusha Clark, our guests on today’s and tomorrow’s broadcasts, there’s an avalanche of change going on.

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Download Your Free ‘Parents Guide to 13 Reasons Why’

Last week I blogged about “13 Reasons Why,” the controversial television series from Netflix that, while rated TV-MA, targets the teen demographic.

As you may know, “13 Reasons Why” tells the story of a teen girl who commits suicide and blames others for what happened.

I explained that our parenting team and counselors here at Focus on the Family agreed with the experts who are concerned the show glamorizes suicide and might influence copycat behavior – and that our recommendation to parents is to not allow their kids to watch this series.

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The Superhero Lurking Beneath Every Mild-Mannered Dad

You remember Clark Kent. He was a mild-mannered man … until he pulled open his shirt and revealed the superhero outfit underneath that announced his true identity. He was Superman, faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.

Dads don’t wear a superhero’s outfit under their clothes, but don’t let that fool you. They have true heroic power. Their mere presence can have a dramatic influence in the lives of their children.

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Read a Free Excerpt from My New Book “When Parenting Isn’t Perfect”

No one has children because it’s easy.

Quite the contrary, really. Raising children – especially nowadays – is hard work. That’s probably why parents want to know if they’re doing an acceptable job.

And if we’re being honest, we would admit we want to be doing more than just “OK.” Most of us want to measure up to some sort of perceived ideal. We want to be the perfect parent and have the perfect family.

So we read books by all the “right” experts, and we try to follow a formula, and yes … we might even listen to the Focus on the Family Daily Broadcast.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: family, parenting, promos