Daly Focus Blog
Author Rhonda Stoppe thought she was prepared to be a great mom … until she gave birth to her second child, a son. Rhonda felt inadequate to be his mother. Raising a daughter felt easy. Raising a son felt intimidating.
Many moms can relate. They understand how their daughters think, feel, and see the world. Not so their sons. My wife, Jean, did an amazing job of adapting to our two boys and creating a meaningful connection with both, but she worked hard it.
Would you like to see more joyful obedience from your children?
Author Arlene Pellicane offers eight key strategies that will set your kids up to succeed:
Amusement is not the highest priority. Your life should not revolve around entertaining your child.
Parents call the shots. You are the leader, not your child.
Routine and boundaries provide security. Kids thrive with guidelines and guardrails.
It’s best to weave the Bible and prayer into the fabric of daily life, not reserve it for Sundays.
If you’re the parent of young children, maybe you’ll relate to this scenario.
Amy Davison’s children were watching a cartoon about a girl who had a crush on one of her classmates. Throughout the episode, she put love notes in the classmate’s locker. At the end, when the show revealed that the locker belonged to another girl, Amy’s ten-year-old daughter turned and asked, “Wait, what just happened? Does she like girls?”
And just like that, Amy was forced to have a conversation with her young child about the LGBT world.
I’ve known a lot of guys who think nurturing children is mom’s job, not dad’s. Fatherhood should be about strength, they say.
I agree, but instead of picturing a bouquet of flowers, picture a mighty oak tree. It’s the tree’s strength that allows it to provide and protect and nurture the wildlife around it.
That’s fatherhood. Nurturing dads have strong character, but a gentle spirit that enables them to handle discipline issues without criticizing or being harsh.
When should a parent decide, “My child is old enough to live completely free of my influence”?
By the way, “Never!” is not a good answer.
Children on their way to adulthood have always struggled for independence against their parents. What’s changed is how parents view childhood between the ages of 13 and 20.
The concept of “adolescence” has only been around for 100 years or so. The terms “adolescent” and “teenager” were first used around 1941.
There are 150 million orphans in the world.
Every six seconds a child dies because they don’t have access to food or water.
What are you going to do about it?
That’s a daunting question, isn’t it? The scale of poverty in the world is so overwhelming that we feel paralyzed … and do nothing.
I suggest a change in perspective. No, you can’t fix the world’s problems. But you can do good right where you are.
I can’t say it enough. Moms have on of the hardest jobs in the world!
I think the Lord created women with maternal instincts that drive them to serve and sacrifice everything they have for the sake of their families. My own mom cared for five children, worked two jobs, and tried to meet everybody’s needs the best way she knew how. We didn’t have much, but we were happy.
Unfortunately, it’s easy for moms to take on too many responsibilities – and neglect themselves in the process.
Nature has incredible influence over us.
Studies show that plants and flowers help post-surgery patients raise their spirits, experience shorter hospital stays, require less medicine, and recover faster.
An article from the Yale School of Environment reports that spending a cumulative time of two hours in nature each week has significant health benefits.
Nature is also an incredible classroom for teaching children about God’s character. Even young children can perceive God’s hidden attributes through creation (Romans 1:20), connect God’s Word to the natural world, and develop a deep understanding of the rich nature narratives strung throughout Scripture that point to the Creator.
Do you feel like your daughter is growing up too fast?
Believe it or not, it may be true. In fact, that conversation about puberty you assumed was still a few years off may be needed sooner than you think.
There’s some debate about why it’s happening, but there’s no question that puberty is occurring earlier and earlier in girls. For some, it could be as young as seven or eight! Puberty brings about big changes in a girl’s physical development and body image, and that can be scary if she isn’t prepared for what’s coming.
When my boys were 6 and 8, Jean and I took them to Disneyland. That day, they were tired, wanted their own way, and had meltdowns. My solution was to say, “Control yourself, or you will never come here again.”
It was a silly parenting strategy on my part because Jean and I enjoyed going to Disneyland as much as the boys did. Which means I would have never followed through on the consequences I threatened.
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.
