Focus is dedicated to supporting families and encouraging parents in raising children and shaping them with biblically based values so that children are prepared for a life to serve God and humanity. Another Jim almost 22 years ago saw the need of families to have biblically based resources to help them raise their children. Dr. James C. Dobson, who was raised the son of a Nazarene pastor, watched and learned from the solid biblical principles his parents lived out in their home. During his training in the field of child development at the University of Southern California, where he later earned a Ph.D., Dr. Dobson became convinced that his skills as a Christian psychologist would be needed as the family felt the impact of society s disintegration following the turmoil of the 60s. Determined to make a difference, he left his 14-year stint as an associate clinical professor of pediatrics at the USC School of Medicine and his position on the staff of Children s Hospital in Los Angeles to begin Focus on the Family in March 1977.
Children just don t fit into a to-do list very well.
Children just don t fit into a to-do list very well, Dr. Dobson says. It takes time to introduce them to good books and it takes time to listen, once more, to the skinned-knee episode and talk about the bird with the broken wing. These are the building blocks of esteem, held together with the mortar of love. But they seldom materialize amidst busy timetables. Focus on the Family offers many resources to help families take time with their children.