Daly Focus Blog
The movie “Bad Moms” opened this past weekend in the number two slot, taking in $23.8 million. And despite the bad language and wild antics, the film delivers a lesson… to dads. I’ll leave you with Plugged In’s Paul Asay to share what he learned when he watched “Bad Moms” — so you won’t have to.
And I’d love to hear from you — what summer movie (in the theaters or on Netflix) can you recommend?
The only things certain in life are death and taxes.
Oh … and the fact that children are born selfish.
Straight from the womb, kids have no boundaries. They don’t care if their mom and dad are hungry, overworked, or haven’t slept in days. They’ll scream for food when they’re hungry and for a new diaper when the old one has, let’s say, fulfilled its purpose.
Fortunately, there’s nothing in that behavior for parents to worry about because that’s the means God has given infants to have their needs met and to survive.
Today I want to share with you a piece by Adam R. Holz, who works on Focus’ Plugged In team, that will hopefully help you navigate the questions and requests your kids might have about the “it” game of the moment, Pokémon Go.
You can also download our free resource, “A Quick Pokémon Guide for Parents” online. Let me know your thoughts about the game — and our guide — in the comments section!
Have you ever tried to push a fully inflated beach ball under the water and hold it there?
You can only hold it beneath the surface for so long. Sooner or later, your strength will give out, and the ball will pop back up.
It’s a lot like parenting. How so?
Well, to answer that question, we’ve invited Milan and Kay Yerkovich back to our microphones. They were with us a couple of weeks ago to discuss how we develop a deeper connection with our spouse by understanding their love style and ours.
One of the most important responsibilities you have as a parent is passing your faith and values on to your children.
It may also be one of the most challenging tasks before you. And there’s a reason why.
At the 2008 Summer Olympics, both the U.S. men’s and women’s 4 x 100 relay teams were expected to compete for the gold medal. Instead, in a shocking turn of events, neither team even made it to the finals.
For many couples, marriage is mostly about the kids.
Well-meaning moms and dads spend so many years completely devoted to the task of raising their children that they often forget to be husband and wife. It’s a situation that may be manageable while the kids are still at home and there’s enough work to “float” the relationship along – but it can become unbearable after the kids move out.
That’s what puts empty-nest marriages at higher risk for dissatisfaction – and even divorce.
I’d say the most popular word in the average parent’s vocabulary would have to be “no.”
To be fair, it’s an important word for moms and dads. Used properly, it creates healthy boundaries for children.
But I think sometimes we over-do our “no’s,” too. We can be a little too protective. Remember Dory, the Pacific blue tang with short-term memory loss from the animated hit “Finding Nemo”? She reminded Marlin, the dad of mis-adventurous Nemo, “You can’t never let anything happen to him.
What does hiking a mountain have in common with parenting? As it turns out, a lot.
Adventurers who explore the Colorado Rocky Mountains can be in the wild for extended periods of time. That can be risky if the weather unexpectedly deteriorates. Without warning, hikers can face conditions that change from one extreme to the other, and their well-thought out plans can become uncertain at best, requiring constant course corrections.
Raising children can be an equally daunting challenge.
We’ve been hearing more about “boomerang kids” lately, young adults who, due to a bad economy, dearth of jobs, or for a variety of others reasons, move back home with mom and dad after a season of independence.
Boomerang kids are part of a rapidly growing trend. According to an NBC News article, “A Pew Research Center analysis released earlier this month found that 40 percent of 18- to 31-year-olds with a high school degree or less, and 43 percent of those with some college education, were living at their parents’ home in 2012.” Another study shows that 85 percent of college grads move back in after school is over.
What happens when a researcher tries to measure the parent-child bond using the same standard yardstick for both moms and dads?
Dads lose.
That’s what Dr. Kathryn Kerns discovered when she talked to teens and preteens about their parents.
But something wasn’t adding up: the kids were describing “rich, warm relationships” with their dads. So why weren’t the fathers scoring better?
Because the researchers were using the wrong yardstick.
Turns out you can’t evaluate dads the same as moms, because fathers parent their children very differently than mothers do.
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.
