Daly Focus Blog
If you’re a new stepmom, you may be entering into one of the toughest jobs a woman can have. It’s not easy to bring together the remnants of two families and make them one.
Forging genuine relationships between new siblings and step-parents takes time … and lots of it.
Even under the most ideal circumstances.
There’s no way to know how long children may grieve the loss of their original family and everything that went with it.
A news roundup on the issues that matter most.
“How Many Kids Grow Up With Their Married Mom and Dad?”: Less than half, according to a new report by the Family Research Council. It finds 54 percent of 15- to 17-year-olds do not live in a home with their married mother and father.
The story of Pastor Lee-Jon-rak and his baby box – the topic of Focus’ upcoming film, “The Drop Box” – has earned a lot of media attention since the original article in the L.A.
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.
Maybe you know this feeling a little too well.
You see other families from the outside, and they look exactly like what you envision a good Christian home to be. Their children don’t squabble, and they obey their parents with almost gleeful enthusiasm. Life seems perfect.
But your reality seems a lot different. You break up two or three spats between the kids before you even leave for church. And once you get there, you paint a smile on your face and answer everybody’s, “How’re you doing?” with a robotic, “I’m great.”
But deep inside you know things aren’t great.
Who doesn’t enjoy a good laugh? I think we all do. As legendary comedian Bob Hope once said, laughter is an “instant vacation.”
My family can attest to that. We love to laugh together. It bonds us together and enables joy, love, and grace to flourish in our home.
Simply put, laughter helps make our house a pleasant place to be. The more we laugh the more we enjoy one another’s company, and that strengthens our relationships.
After a few years of Super Bowl commercials featuring Dad as the butt of too many jokes, it seems like this year may be in for a refreshing change. There are two pre-released game day ads that show fathers in a positive light.
First up is Dove Men + Care’s 60-second spot, “#RealStrength,” which shows children of various ages calling their dads and ends with the tagline “Care Makes a Man Stronger.” It’s so well-made it’s likely many viewers will be left with tears in their eyes.
I think almost every parent can relate to this scenario:
You give your 6-year-old a clear instruction to follow. But instead of doing what he’s told, he looks at you and, with a straight face asks, “Why?”
Believe it or not, how you respond to that question as a parent is more crucial than you might think.
There was a time in our society when a “Why do I have to?” from a child would get an immediate “Because I said so” from the parent.
From the serious to the light-hearted, here are some recent news articles on topics that impact faith and family that might be of interest to you.
– Obama’s Middle-Class Blind Spot, via The Wall Street Journal: The president’s proposed tax credit for families doesn’t extend to families with a stay-at-home parent.
President Obama is missing an opportunity to help all struggling families…
– Pope: Catholics need not breed ‘like rabbits’: USA Today reports on the controversial statement.
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.
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.
Jim Daly is a husband, father and President of Focus on the Family and host of its National Radio Hall of Fame broadcast. His blog, Daly Focus, is full of timely commentary and wisdom designed to help you navigate and understand today’s culture. His latest book is Marriage Done Right.
