kids Archives - Jim Daly

Adventures in Odyssey Children’s Bible Nominated as Bible of the Year Finalist

I am delighted to announce that Focus on the Family’s NIrV Adventures in Odyssey Children’s Bible has been nominated as a finalist for best Bible of the year by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA).

As I’ve mentioned before, The NIrV Adventures in Odyssey Bible provides an exciting journey through the Scriptures hosted by familiar characters from the beloved Adventures in Odyssey audio drama. Designed for children ages 7 to 12, this full color Bible includes both the Old and New Testaments and these special features:

66 book introductions
100 word searches
200+ devotionals
300 fun trivia facts
A 30-day guided reading plan
Maps of key biblical events
Eight comic-book adventures illustrated by Marvel/DC Comics artist Sergio Cariello

The ECPA’s Christian Book Award “recognizes the highest quality in Christian books and Bibles and is among the oldest and most prestigious awards program in the religious publishing industry.” The program began in 1978 and now includes 11 categories including Bibles, Bible Reference Works and Christian Living.

Topics: Focus Events Tags: church, faith, kids April 13, 2018 by Jim Daly

What Does YouTube Know About Your Kids?

Headlines about social media privacy concerns with Facebook are in the news as CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified before Congress on Tuesday.

But there’s another story that caught my eye – and this one involves your kids.

Earlier this week, consumer advocacy groups filed a complaint and asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate YouTube for collecting and profiting off of data collected from children under the age 13, which would be a violation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: entertainment, kids, pop culture, technology April 11, 2018 by Jim Daly

Connecting with Your Child When You Don’t Know How

Doesn’t it seem like connecting with your children ought to come naturally? So what do you do when it doesn’t?

Author Kathi Lipp says the “problem” is often a difference in personality. Our children have a unique way of seeing the world. Instead of hindering our relationship, what if their uniqueness became the very foundation upon which a strong connection was built?

Kathi says your child’s personality is a window into his or her soul. Although God doesn’t create children with cookie cutter personalities, there are a lot of commonalities:

Expressive.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, family, kids, parenting April 3, 2018 by Jim Daly

Why They Adopted a Child with Down Syndrome

Yesterday, March 21st, was World Down Syndrome Day, a day to raise global awareness about Down syndrome and to celebrate the vital role people with Down syndrome play in our lives and in our communities.

In recognition, our radio program is featuring the story of one couple who found God’s grace through adoption … in an unusual and remarkable way.

Heather and Josh Avis walked a long, difficult journey through infertility. “Why not us?” was their anguished question.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: adoption, broadcast, faith, family, kids March 22, 2018 by Jim Daly

How to Have Constructive Conversations with Your Teen Daughter

Jessie Minassian knows the struggles teenage girls face. Not only is she an author, a speaker, and a blogger who has passion for mentoring young women, she lived through some challenging teen years herself.

Teen girls are trying to figure out who they are in the midst of social pressures, hormone-induced mood swings, and – many times – family dynamics. Even girls (and boys) who love God sometimes have a hard time acting respectfully at home.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, family, kids, parenting March 6, 2018 by Jim Daly

Raising Boys Who Become True Men

“My coach from my senior year could look at me and knight me with his eyes.”

That powerful comment illustrates the hunger of every boy to have a man, particularly a father, draw him into manhood. It comes from Dr. Robert Lewis, who has been associated with Focus on the Family for years. Back in the late 90s, he wrote a book with Focus called “Raising a Modern-Day Knight.” Since then, it’s been our number one best seller.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, kids, parenting March 1, 2018 by Jim Daly

Heartache and Heroes in Florida School Shooting

Yesterday’s tragic violence at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, is the nation’s third-deadliest school shooting in history – and the 7th such shooting in 2018 alone.

Sadly, we’ve grown familiar with the awful rhythm of these barbaric events.

First comes the text alert on our phone or we hear about the horror on social media. Or maybe we learn of it from the lament of a friend or a co-worker.

Before we ask “How could this happen?” we instinctively ask “How many?”

Of course, we intuitively know that even one is too many, and that behind every number is a name of someone who means the world to someone else.

Topics: Current Events Tags: events, kids, news February 15, 2018 by Jim Daly

Escaping the “Family Crazy Cycle”

Parenting is only for adults.

That’s what Dr. Emerson Eggerichs tells parents who struggle with what he calls the “family crazy cycle.”

It works like this: When children feel unloved, they tend to react in ways that feel disrespectful toward their parents. When parents feel disrespected, they tend to react in ways that feel unloving to the child.

And the cycle starts to spin.

Parenting is only for adults because it’s up to mom and dad – not the child – to stop the crazy cycle.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, family, kids, parenting, relationships February 12, 2018 by Jim Daly

Developing Your Child’s Unique Personality

When my two sons, Trent and Troy, were born, I thought they would be a lot alike. More to the point, I thought Jean and I would be able to raise them the same way.

Boy, was I wrong.

Trent and Troy share a lot of the same interests, but spend an afternoon with each of them, and you’ll find out just how different they are. Trent is thoughtful and super-smart. He may be the smartest one in the whole family.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, kids, parenting February 9, 2018 by Jim Daly

Signs of Human Trafficking and What You Should – and Shouldn’t – Do to Help

Human trafficking is a part of the seedy underbelly of our society that most of us would rather not have a conversation about. It’s hard to conceive of hundreds of thousands of people, most of them children and women, being either kidnapped or manipulated into psychological enslavement. So we turn our attention to more pleasant topics.

That’s exactly the behavior traffickers count on from us to keep their activities hidden and their operations running smoothly.

Even the lowest estimates suggest that something like 100,000 kids are taken into human trafficking every year in the U.S.

Topics: Current Events Tags: broadcast, kids, news, pro-life February 2, 2018 by Jim Daly