parenting Archives

Focus Celebrates More Than 230,000 Babies Saved from Abortion

Every January Focus on the Family commemorates the sanctity of human life in all of its beautiful forms.

It was, of course, in January 1973 that the U.S. Supreme Court rendered its tragic decision on Roe v Wade, which legalized abortion in all fifty states. Since then about 51 million babies have been lost to abortion.

In the midst of this somber reality is a ray of hope – more than ever before we’re seeing Americans identify as “pro-life.” As technology helps to reveal the reality and beauty of life in the womb, a greater number of women facing unplanned pregnancies are choosing to parent their babies, or to place them for adoption.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: kids, parenting, policy, pro-life January 14, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

You Can’t “Unfriend” Family

It’s pretty easy to avoid dealing with conflict nowadays.

Do your former college roommate’s views on parenting irritate you? Hide her posts from your Facebook news feed.

Annoyed by the neighbor’s political signs on the front lawn? Sadly, it doesn’t take much effort to avoid interacting with neighbors these days.

Things start to get a little more complicated, however, when conflict exists within the immediate family. Real life doesn’t give you the option to “unfriend” or ignore your spouse, son or daughter, even when there’s something about the family dynamic that can easily bring anger to the surface.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, marriage, parenting January 7, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Adventures in Odyssey Fans Will Want to Read This

Do you know someone who’d jump at the chance at having access to Adventures in Odyssey’s entire library of 700-plus episodes?

Are you one of the many college students and adults who secretly listen to AIO on your mp3 player?

Are you a parent of little ones looking for fun ways to invest in their spiritual growth?

If you can identify with any of the above questions, Focus’ new Odyssey Adventure Club is for you.

The Odyssey Adventure Club provides fans with exclusive new monthly episodes and video documentaries.

Topics: Focus Events Tags: entertainment, kids, parenting, promos January 6, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

The App You Would Like Your Child to Have

On any given Sunday there’s a significant number of folks who pull out their cell phones when the pastor asks them to turn to the morning’s passage. They’re not being rude – they’re just accessing the Bible via their smartphones.

The free YouVersion Bible app is one of the most popular ways to access different versions of the Bible via a smartphone or tablet. In 2013, the app was installed about 49 million times. It was opened 31 times per second, or 1,000,000,000 total times in 2013.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, kids, parenting, technology January 3, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Protecting Your Family from the Digital Invasion

I recently asked my blog readers if they could do without a handheld device like a smartphone or tablet for 24 hours.

It’s a reasonable question to ask since mobile users check their smartphones an average of 150 times a day.

Digital addiction can be an easy thing to fall prey to, especially since access is all around us. We use computers for work, we carry devices in our pockets and most places offer free WIFI.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, kids, parenting, technology December 31, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

VIDEO: The “It” Present This Christmas Is…

The year’s “it” Christmas present changes from year to year … or does it?

Back in 1983, parents were fighting over Cabbage Patch dolls. “Elmo-mania” swept the country during the Christmas of 1996 as moms and dads did the impossible to get their children “Tickle Me Elmo” toys. The Nintendo Wii was all the rage in 2006. And in their zeal to make sure Timmy and Susie found the year’s hottest presents under the tree, too many parents found themselves pushed, shoved and even injured.

Topics: Current Events Tags: faith, kids, parenting December 25, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

VIDEO: This Commercial Captures Parenting’s “Big Picture”

This ad from Coca-Cola Argentina captures the contradictory nature of parenting better than anything I’ve seen in a long time.

It also does a marvelous job of capturing the splendor of marriage and raising children.

Let’s face it. Parenting can certainly play to the extremes. In one Facebook status update a mom can share about her challenging day homeschooling but two hours later post a picture of her kids with a caption suggesting parenting is the most rewarding thing she’s ever done.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: kids, parenting, pop culture December 18, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Singleness During the Christmas Season

Being single during the holidays is the stuff movies, blog posts and TV show plot lines are made of. While they’re usually making light of how “awkward” things are for singles during Christmas, others try to look on the bright side of things.

I’m not belittling the importance of the topic. Our own outreach for single adults, Boundless, has a plethora of resources addressing the issue – and for good reason. God created us for community and companionship.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith, marriage, parenting, relationships December 17, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Reaching the World Online Through Our Digital Engagement Center

Focus on the Family’s perennial calling to help families thrive recently received a huge boost when we unveiled our “Digital Engagement Center.”

This newly constructed, state-of-the-art social media command center uses cutting-edge technology to help our family-help specialists directly reach families searching online for advice to life’s challenges. In the past, we were only able to help people who came to us for help. And while hundreds of thousands of people do come to us for help every month, we’re also very excited about being able to proactively seeking out people who may not know Focus offers this kind of support.

Topics: Focus Events Tags: faith, marriage, parenting, technology December 16, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

“Will You Marry Me, Mommy?”

It’s an innocent question many moms have heard from their young sons: “Will you marry me, Mommy?”

It’s a question that usually inspires an “aww” and maybe a hidden smile. The mom’s heart swells with gratitude. She is loved by her son.

However, that question also underscores a fact – little boys are born knowing nothing about marriage. Rather, it’s up to their moms and dads to teach them everything about that sacred institution – including what God’s plan for marriage is.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, marriage, parenting December 12, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura