kids Archives

Are Parents Ruining Youth Sports?

This is taking “March Madness” too far.

Springfield, Massachusetts,father Timothy Lee Forbes was arrested this past Friday night for allegedly assaulting the winning coach in a sixth-grade championship basketball game. His son was on the losing team and apparently managed the loss with a greater degree of self-control than his dad, who actually bit off part of the victorious coach’s ear.

As Dave Barry would say, “No, I’m not making this up.”

Some are suggesting that since all of this took place at the Holy Name School as part of the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) sports program that it’s something of a black eye on the faith-based community.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: kids, news, parenting March 13, 2012 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Have Youth Sports Gone Mad?

This is taking “March Madness” too far.

Springfield, Massachusetts, father Timothy Lee Forbes was arrested this past Friday night for allegedly assaulting the winning coach in a sixth-grade championship basketball game. His son was on the losing team and apparently managed the loss with a greater degree of self-control than his dad, who actually bit off part of the victorious coach’s ear.

As Dave Barry would say, “No, I’m not making this up.”

Topics: Family and Home Tags: kids, parenting March 13, 2012 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Don’t Let Your Teen Daughter Do This

According to a recent story in the San Francisco Chronicle there is a disturbing trend developing with teenage girls on the internet:

A growing number of tweens and teens, mainly girls, are posting videos on YouTube asking commenters if they’re ugly.

Type ‘Am I ugly?’ or ‘Am I pretty’ into the YouTube search box and dozens of videos pop up, including one of an 11-year-old girl who poses for the camera, twirling her shoulders, smiling big, and pulling her long hair out of a pony tail.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: kids, parenting, pop culture, technology March 12, 2012 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

The Best Things in Life

There are many kinds of success in life worth having. It is exceedingly interesting and attractive to be a successful business man, or railroad man, or farmer, or a successful lawyer or doctor; or a writer, or a President, or a ranchman, or the colonel of a fighting regiment, or to kill grizzly bears and lions.

But for unflagging interest and enjoyment, a household of children, if things go reasonably well, certainly makes all other forms of success and achievement lose their importance by comparison.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, kids March 2, 2012 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

The Commercial That Led Them to Christ

I want to share an exciting postscript to Monday’s piece, Some Numbers Are More Important Than a Score.

In the process of providing some background and detail on our commercial featuring the Bible verse John 3:16, I noted that we had received some remarkable news about a simple two-line tweet. It read:

Both my sons just saw your commercial and gave their lives to Christ as a result. Thank you. #John316

The father in question was named David Grumme.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: church, faith, kids January 19, 2012 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Some Numbers Are More Important Than a Score

There wasn’t a lot of celebrating Saturday night in our home state of Colorado, but there was definitely – as Luke 15:7 promises – “rejoicing in heaven.” Our beloved Denver Broncos lost a heartbreaker to the New England Patriots, but that result is really inconsequential when souls are won for Christ.

And that’s precisely what happened during the AFC Divisional Playoffs. How do we know? Because people told us.

They were responding to a 30-second commercial from Focus on the Family aired during the game.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family, kids January 16, 2012 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

What Andy Rooney Thought Every Child Needed

Although he struck many of us as something of a curmudgeon, I enjoyed watching and reading Andy Rooney over the years.

Mr. Rooney lived a long and colorful life before passing away at the age of 92 last month. Many of his newspaper columns were compiled into various books. The following essay that I’m going to excerpt, “What Every Kid Should Have Growing Up,” comes from one of his best-selling works titled Sweet and Sour.

Reading over this list, I have to admit that I wish I had all these things growing up.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, kids December 2, 2011 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

This Happened to My Son on a Plane

I was on a recent flight with our family and encountered something unexpected. There was nothing out of the ordinary about the trip, just another full plane with hundreds of people squeezed together, row upon row. On this particular segment, though, I happened to be sitting right across the aisle from the boys and kept an eye on them as they read and talked with each other.

Then it happened.

Troy proceeded to put up his tray table.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: events, family, kids November 21, 2011 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Expose the Evil at Penn State

When Penn State’s Board of Trustees announced the firing of football coach Joe Paterno last night in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky molestation scandal, an audible gasp was heard throughout the room. The news quickly spread across the campus. Riots and swarms of angry protestors flooded the streets. A television truck was pushed over. A chaotic night ensued.

Happy Valley it was not.

Some people are upset and agitated alright, but they’re upset and agitated over the wrong things.

Topics: Current Events Tags: events, kids, news November 10, 2011 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

I Had to Turn it Off

The disturbing video of Texas judge William Adams whipping his then 16-year-old daughter quickly went viral last week, with several million views and climbing. Have you seen it? I had the unfortunate experience of watching an excerpt the other day.

I was sickened at the sight.

My heart breaks for this young woman, Hillary Adams (now 23) who posted the video, allegedly to get back at her father. He is (or was) running for re-election. Naturally people want to know if officials are going to charge Judge Adams with child abuse.

Topics: Current Events Tags: family, kids, news, parenting November 9, 2011 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura