parenting Archives

Healing Parent and Adult Child Relationships

One of the top calls our counseling team receives is from parents who struggle with feelings of resentment, sadness, or anger because of a fractured relationship with their adult children. It’s heartbreaking.

It’s also common. A 2015 studyby Richard Conti of Kean University found that 43 percent of college students had been estranged from their parents at some point. Twenty-six percent reported extended estrangement.

When a parent/adult child relationship is fractured, the most effective solution is to redefine the boundaries.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, kids, parenting November 23, 2021 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Planting the Seeds of Success in Your Kids

Parents often dream about their children becoming doctors, astronauts, or business executives. They help their children along that path by helping them develop specific talents or academic excellence.

The trouble with that approach, according to parenting expert Dr. Kevin Leman, is that it focuses on what our children will become, rather than who they’ll become.

To correct course, Dr. Leman offers parents eight strategies for raising successful kids:

Start with the end goal in mind.Expect the best, get the best.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family, kids, parenting November 18, 2021 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

How You Can Help Support Foster and Adoptive Families

November is National Adoption Month in the United States and Adoption Awareness Month in Canada. These observances highlight a great need.

In the United States, there are more than 400,000 children in foster care. Over 100,000 are waiting to be adopted.

Scripture teaches that each of us is called to care for the vulnerable. Other than a child in the womb, no one is more vulnerable than a child without a family. How can you help?

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family, parenting November 8, 2021 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Election ’21 Confirms – Mothers and Fathers Matter

Don’t mess with moms and dads – that’s the prevailing takeaway coming out of yesterday’s two major electoral races, especially in the state of Virginia.

Virginia Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin’s victory over former Governor Terry McAuliffe culminated a bruising campaign, with much of it focused on a rising backlash against the “woke” policies of the radical left.

At the current time, New Jersey’s gubernatorial race remains too close to call.

Pundits suggest the turning point of the race in Virginia came when Mr.

Topics: Current Events/ Family and Home Tags: events, family, parenting November 3, 2021 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

A Two Word Solution to an Age-Old Problem: Stop It!

Readers above a certain age will remember the comedian Bob Newhart. Now 92 years-old, the actor known for his deadpan delivery once played a psychologist dispensing advice to a cast of eclectic characters. Encountering a woman who feared and thought continuously about being buried in a box, the doctor famously relayed a two-word solution:

“Stop it!”

Naturally, breaking a bad and destructive habit is easier said than done. But the first step is realizing the harm that is done by consuming pornography.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family, marriage, parenting, pop culture October 27, 2021 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Connecting with Your Teen Daughter

Mom, you play a pivotal role in your daughter’s journey to discover her identity and grow into a young woman of character. That process requires your time and presence, both of which can be hard to come by. Whether you work in or out of the home, you’re probably busy.

On our Focus on the Family Broadcast “Connecting with Your Teen Daughter,” we’re talking with author, blogger, and national speaker Kari Kampakis, who will help you understand your teen daughter at a deeper level and build a stronger relationship with her.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, kids, parenting October 25, 2021 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Raising Sons to Be Honorable 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.

It’s been one of our best sellers ever since.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, parenting October 18, 2021 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

The Four Most Important Choices You Can Make as a Parent

I’ve interviewed parenting experts who say, “Let go, and allow your kids to make mistakes.”

“That’s easier said than done!” is how most parents would answer back. Author Crystal Paine discovered just how hard parenting can be in the drop-off lane at school. The principal stopped her husband, Jesse, and asked for a meeting.

Their daughter had been exhibiting serious behavior problems and had become suicidal. Other students labelled her a bully, and she was dismissed from school.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, parenting September 28, 2021 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Discovering Your Identity as a Stay-at-Home Mom

Stay-at-home moms are a big topic here at Focus on the Family. I have great respect for them. They work hard from sunup to sundown, and they often don’t get acknowledged for who they are or what they do every day.

If you’re a stay-at-home mom who feels isolated, alone, or overwhelmed, I encourage you to listen to our Focus on the Family Broadcast “Discovering Your New Identity as a Stay-at-Home Mom.” Our guest is Jen Babakhan, who talked with me about God’s calling for mothers and why your role in the family is so important.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, parenting September 23, 2021 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

The Importance of Fathering Well

I have strong feelings about the importance of dads being in the home. That’s partly because of my experiences. I’ve seen the impact of fatherlessness up close and personal. My stepdad abandoned me and my siblings within hours of my mother’s funeral. A few years later, my biological father died of alcoholism, and I spent time in foster care.

My views are reinforced by the data. Every scientific measurement of child well-being around the globe consistently reveals that fatherlessness is profoundly harmful to children and society.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: parenting September 10, 2021 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura