Daly Focus Blog
Have you heard of Kid President?
If you haven’t, I want to introduce you to him. His real name is Robby Novak, and he’s 11 years old. He stars in a series of inspirational and lighthearted YouTube videos, which have collectively been viewed tens of millions of times. I want to share one, “An Open Letter to Moms,” with you today in honor of Mother’s Day.
Robby has good reason to praise moms. His own mother, Laurie Novak, is a pretty incredible lady.
One foolish mistake on social media can haunt a person for years. All it takes is one insensitive tweet, a misinterpreted picture on Facebook, or an unguarded moment captured on Snapchat.
Think I’m exaggerating?
A recent article in The New York Times profiled people whose lives have been derailed because of something they posted to social media.
There’s the example of 30-year-old public relations consultant Justine Sacco, who sent out a racially insensitive tweet to her 170 followers before boarding a flight to South Africa.
By now you’ve likely seen the video of Toya Graham, the Baltimore mother who forcibly removed her teenage son from the Maryland rioting.
Ms. Graham is being applauded far and wide on social media – and even by the city’s police commissioner.
To be sure, it’s a gritty video. And while many of us may not necessarily advocate her choice of technique or language, there’s no question some tough love was certainly warranted.
In an interview following the incident, Ms.
Is your parenting style different from your spouse’s?
That’s the case in the Daly household. Generally speaking, I’m laid-back and spontaneous. When things get tense, I tend to diffuse the situation with humor. I enjoy using car rides with my boys to have spontaneous devotions.
My wife, Jean, on the other hand, likes consistency, planning ahead and routines. She appreciates the benefits of a regular, dedicated time of family devotions.
Jean and I know first-hand it can be hard work to merge two distinct parenting styles.
Are you raising a child or raising an adult?
That’s not a trick question. In fact, for many of us, it gets to an idea that may reflect a complete paradigm shift in how we view parenting.
Our job isn’t simply to teach our kids to obey a set of household rules (although learning to follow instructions is important, too). It’s to empower them to use their judgment to make good decisions in life.
How do we do that?
Do you or will you allow your children to walk to school or to the park alone?
If you said “yes” and happen to live in the state of Maryland, you could find yourself on the wrong side of the law.
Danielle and Alexander Meitiv of Silver Spring, Maryland, learned that the hard away.
Mr. and Mrs. Meitiv practice “free-range parenting,” a philosophy where moms and dads give their children a great degree of independence. So when they allowed their two children, Rafi and Dvora, ages 10 and 6, to walk home alone from the park, the police got involved.
I’m sure you could tell me which of your children are introverts or extroverts, or which are morning people or night owls. Those traits reflect their personality.
It’s how they perceive the world around them and interact with it.
Well, in the same way, financial experts Scott and Bethany Palmer say children have a money personality. It’s essentially the same idea. Their money personality affects how they see money, interact with it, and deal with others who see money differently.
Thomas Edison is famous for saying, “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”
Something similar can be said for God’s blessings.
We’ll readily accept good news as a sign of God’s presence. But when trouble strikes, we’re prone to question why He’s abandoned us.
It’s not unusual for God’s activity in and through our lives to be wrapped in the skin of challenging circumstances. That’s often the case when a child is diagnosed with autism.
This is a fact.
Boys learn to become men in the company of other men as they walk and grow through the challenges of life together.
But in disturbing numbers across our culture, that isn’t happening.
In fact, our video curriculum, The Family Project, reveals the tale of the tape.
Sadly, statistics show that 85 percent of men in prison didn’t have a dad while growing up. Seventy percent of teen suicides occur in homes where there isn’t a dad.
Desiree Andrews is a cheerleader for the Lincoln Middle School in Kenosha, Wisconsin. She’s a sweet, happy, friendly eighth-grader, who also happens to have Down Syndrome.
The young woman has also become something of an international celebrity during the last few weeks.
Why?
According to reports, basketball players on the Lincoln team stopped play in order to defend Desiree against some bullies who were mocking her moves from the stands.
“We were mad. We didn’t like that,” said player Miles Rodriguez.
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.
